


lest we fall into the dark

by Gingerwerk



Category: The Pacific (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Flashbacks, Friendship, Healing, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Unconventional Families, basically k company just being there for each other 24/7 as it should be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2018-09-26 14:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 104,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9907790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gingerwerk/pseuds/Gingerwerk
Summary: At 18, Eugene’s life changed forever when he decided to follow family tradition and walked into the Marine’s recruiting office downtown instead of applying for colleges like his mother desperately wished. When he returned to Mobile at 22, everyone expected him to follow one of his old ambitions and get a degree or a job but Eugene just couldn’t do that, couldn’t do much of anything, certainly he couldn’t look his mother in the eyes and tell her that the son she knew had died somewhere in the middle of the desert on the other side of the world. By the time he turned 24, Eugene had had enough of everyone’s poking and prodding so he loaded up his car, headed north, and never looked back. With the help of a new city, an old friend, and a struggling flower shop, Eugene was finally able to start making progress with his life but whatever peace Eugene managed to find in the city and in his shop was shattered with the arrival of his new neighbors and at 27 Eugene realized that his life was about to change forever once again. He just hoped that this time it would be for the better.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So after a bit of a break I'm back with my next new project (although hopefully will not end up being as long as my last one...) I've been planning this fic out for a while now so I'm really excited to finally start posting.
> 
> I'd like to give a special shoutout to my dude May (tumblr user bluudhaven) for being my idea soundboard/australian translator/occasional beta/all around awesome supportive person. thanks, you the real mvp
> 
> title for this fic is taken from the song Battle Born by the Killers btw; also I've created a fanmix for this fic which you can find here: https://open.spotify.com/user/gingerwerk/playlist/1hGYqwkHB5J4Vxz5j15UAI

*           *           * 

_There was heat, dry heat pressed down on him from all directions. The ground was a never ending expanse of rock and sand that seemed to stretch on for miles. The grains of sand worked their way into Eugene’s skin somehow, even while wearing a uniform and a MOPP suit over it. His feet hurt from walking and there was something rubbing the side of his food raw. He needed to take off his boots. Eugene paused in the middle of walking and was about to follow through with his wishes when his training kicked in and he reminded himself that now was not a good time to take them off. Instead he stood still for a moment and took in the throbbing of his foot and the way his face felt while it got slowly baked by the desert sun._

_“What’s the hold up, Sledge?”_

_Eugene blinked and focused on the man in front of him, Oswalt, who had noticed that Eugene had stopped now that he was several feet in front of him._

_“I’m out looking at land, Oswalt,” Eugene sighed, his voice a little weak from heat and lack of use._

_Eugene turned away from his friend and squinted at the sun. He heard Oswalt chuckle, knew that he was grinning at him and probably shaking his head._

_“You can look at land once we’re back at camp, Sledge,” Oswalt grinned as he began to walk backwards, white, toothy smile creating a bright white signal amidst the expanse of beige coloring surrounding the both of them. “Come on, if we don’t get a move on, Gunny is gonna be pissed that we took so long.”_

_Eugene nodded his head and lifted his throbbing foot with the intention of moving forward but the next thing he knew he was knocked to the ground. Fire whirled around him, making the already oppressive heat so much worse. His back slammed against the hard ground and all the oxygen that had been in his lungs was forced out. He couldn’t breathe. There was smoke clogging up his vision and he couldn’t see. There was a sharp noise that filled his ears. Eugene coughed and struggled to breathe, to call out to his friend._

_“Os-Oswalt!” Eugene coughed as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened. “Oswalt!”_

 

Eugene’s eyes flung open as he sprung up into a sitting position. His chest heaved while he gasped desperately for oxygen. He sat frozen for a long moment before he blinked, took in the dim room, and realized where he was. He was in his bedroom, in his shitty little apartment in Boston. He wasn’t in Iraq, wasn’t being thrown to the ground because of a land mine. He was okay, physically speaking.

 

“Damn it,” Eugene hissed into the darkness while he tried to get his rapid heart rate under control.

 

He felt a chill roll over his body and he realized he was covered in a cold sweat. His entire body was shaking and even though his breathing had returned to normal his heart still felt as if it were trying to jump out of his chest. Eugene ran a shaky hand through his sweat-soaked hair before he pulled his knees up to his chest. He stared off into the distance while Oswalt’s last moments continued to flash in front of his eyes. By the time his heart rate had slowed to a more normal rate and his body stopped shaking, a pale, grey light had begun to work its way across his bedroom floor. Sighing heavily, Eugene pulled back the covers, swung his legs over the side of his bed, and got out of bed.

 

He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table and read the time; it was almost five-thirty in the morning. It was his day to open the shop so he had to get a move on anyhow. Eugene slipped his feet into his old, beaten up pair of slippers before he shuffled out of his bedroom and into the main area of the tiny apartment he shared with his best friend, Bill.

 

He flicked on the light switch on the way to the kitchen and lit up the apartment with a wave of yellow light. There was the living room, messy and filled with second hand furniture, and then the kitchen off to the side. There were dishes piled high in the sink and the garbage was over flowing but Eugene ignored that for now as he made his way to the coffee pot.

 

 _I’ll text Bill later to clean up_ , Eugene thought to himself as he poured himself a cold cup of coffee into one of the only clean mugs left. He put the mug into the microwave and started it up before he disappeared into the bathroom next to his bedroom.

 

Once in the bathroom he paused for a moment and took in his reflection: skin still pale, it never seemed capable of tanning, eyes brown and tired, his exhaustion made more obvious by the dark bruises under his eyes, all topped off with a shock of red hair. Eugene blinked before he ran a hand across his jaw and felt the miniscule stubble that was there. He very rarely needed a shave, something he had gotten teased for back when he was in the service, but it didn’t bother him. It made his mornings easier when, like today, they started off rough and he could barely find the energy to do the most basic forms of personal upkeep.

 

Twenty minutes later Eugene was walking down the rusted metal steps that jutted off of the back of the building with a travel mug of coffee in hand and a thick hoodie pulled over his torso; he had been living in Boston for over a year now, had been living up north for even longer now, but Eugene still wasn’t quite used to the early morning chill that blanketed the city this time of year.

 

Eugene rounded the building, walked down the sidewalk for a couple feet, and stopped in front of one of the many storefronts. Eugene pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket before he stepped forward and unlocked the door.

 

Once inside he was assaulted with the pleasant perfume of flowers. He flicked on the light and took in the sight of the small shop filled to the brim with fresh, vibrant flowers. Eugene’s eyes jumped from one cluster to another, breathed in the lightly perfumed air, and slowly a smile came to his face. Feeling better than he did minutes before, Eugene set down his mug of coffee on the counter and began to straighten up the shop so that it would be ready to open up soon.

 

Eugene loved the flower shop. Everything about the place calmed him down: the smells, the soft colors, the general lack of loud noises. Bill didn’t say it, claimed he only worked there for the paycheck and easy work with someone who wasn’t an asshole, but Eugene was sure the flower shop calmed Bill down too.

 

A lot of people didn’t understand Eugene’s fascination with fauna, including most of his family and friends, but Eugene learned not too long ago to not care if other people understood or not. They made him feel better and they gave him a purpose after almost everything he had ever believed in had been completely destroyed, what more was there to understand?

 

*           *           *

 

“About time you decided to show,” Eugene called out when he heard the back door open and footsteps coming towards him.

 

“You should be grateful,” Bill’s voice, heavy with a Brooklyn accent, responded. “I’m only late because I decided to splurge. Got you a real coffee; not that piss-water from the coffeemaker in the back.”

 

“Thanks, Bill,” Eugene thanked as he turned away from watering the peonies and walked towards the counter where Bill had set the cardboard carrier.

 

“Even remember to get you low caffeine shit,” Bill said as he pulled his apron from off of the hook behind the register. “Know how when you have too much caffeine you get heart burn like the old man that you are.”

 

“Aww, Bill, you do care.”

 

“Shut up, Eugene,” Bill snapped as he looked at Eugene over his shoulder.

 

Bill was a young man who was about a head shorter than Eugene. He had bright blue eyes, which were almost always pulled back into a sneer, and light brown hair that was still cropped low like when they were both in the Marines.

 

The two young men had almost nothing in common. Bill hailed proudly from Brooklyn where he spent his childhood in a concrete jungle jumping turnstiles for the subway. Eugene grew up in a large house on an even larger plot of land just outside of Mobile, Alabama. Eugene’s family was part of a long line of southern aristocrats while Bill’s family hovered somewhere around the poverty line. Bill was loud, brash, and very rarely went without speaking his mind, which gained him many more enemies than friends in his lifetime. Eugene was, for the most part, a quiet and reserved man, although from time to time Eugene’s temper showed and it could make even Bill shut up. On paper these two people should not have been anything close to friends and Eugene knew it, was sure Bill knew it too, but after everything that they had been through together, boot camp, two tours in Iraq, trying to readapt to civilian life together, Eugene didn’t feel right if he didn’t have Leyden at his six.

 

“You know how old-man Pesarie kicked it last October and his shops been closed ever since?” Bill asked as he leaned against the wall behind the register.

 

“Yeah, Bill. There’s been a for sale sign up for almost a year,” Eugene responded as he moved on to water the roses.

 

“Well there ain’t anymore.”

 

“What?” Eugene asked as he turned around to face the other man.

 

“Signs gone,” Bill declared. “And the apartment next door, the one over Pesarie’s old shop, has clearly got someone in it now. Fuckers woke me up this morning.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yep. Didn’t get a look at any of them. Just know that they’re all louder than Christ,” he growled before he drank the rest of his coffee and tossed the cup into the nearby trashcan. “Can’t tell what’s going in next door either. Might go investigating later.”

 

“You can go investigate on your break,” Eugene decided as he sat his coffee back down on the counter and went back to work watering the roses. “Right now I need you to go in the back and check to see when the next shipment of tulips is set to come in.”

 

“ _Such_ a slave driver,” Bill huffed dramatically before he did as told and walked slowly towards the back of the store.

 

“Yeah go ahead and bitch,” Eugene called over his shoulder as Bill disappeared behind the door that led to the back office. “If it weren’t for me you’d still be in Brooklyn and out of a job.”

 

“If it weren’t for me you’d still be lost in the middle of the fucking desert!” Bill yelled through the door. “Should’ve left your ginger ass there to burn.”

 

Eugene chuckled quietly as he went back to work and Bill continued to grumble from inside the office.

 

_Same old Bill._

 

*           *           *

 

“Come on. What’s it gonna hurt to make a quick bet?” Bill persisted from where he stood, leaning against the office doorway hours later.

 

“My wallet,” Eugene answered flatly as he struggled to double check some last minute things on the ancient office computer; they really should just take the hit and buy a better computer to save themselves from the constant pain of trying to operate the hunk of junk from the beginning of the millennium. “I’m not betting a round of drinks. An asshole like you would order the most expensive drink in the place.”

 

“Fine then _, a beer_ , Gene,” Bill sighed while Eugene continued to type away at the computer. “Just humor me.”

 

“How about you go humor me and at least _pretend_ like you’re watching the front of the store,” Eugene snapped as he shooed Bill away with a wave of his hand. “And I’ll think about it.”

 

All morning and afternoon Eugene had to deal with Bill’s wild guesses about what and who was moving in next door. After about the first hour Eugene lost all interest in Bill’s increasingly wilder guesses but really, he couldn’t blame Bill; slow day at the shop.

 

“Ya know I bet it’s one of those off-brand cell phone shops that keep popping up all over the place,” Bill declared as he made his way back to the front counter. “With any luck that shit’ll be outta here in a few months and it’ll take the neighbors away too.”

 

“Well with that welcome wagon why wouldn’t they stay?” Eugene muttered to himself as he saved his work and shut down the computer. Eugene grabbed his hoodie from off the back of the desk chair before he walked back to the front of the store. “So is that your bet?”

 

“Huh?” Bill asked as he looked up from the magazine in his hands.

 

“A cell phone shop. Is that your final bet?” Eugene asked.

 

Bill stared at him for a long moment before he held out his right hand. Eugene went to grab the hand but before he could, Bill jerked it back.

 

“Hey, wait. What are you betting?”

 

Eugene needed a moment to think. While he wasn’t nearly as interested in their new neighbors as Bill was, he couldn’t help but peak at the commotion next door on his way back from grabbing their lunch orders earlier. He hadn’t seen much that gave him a clear answer but Eugene had seen a mover dragging an adjustable chair through the front doors similar to the chairs he saw at the barbers.

 

“Uh, barber shop. Hair salon,” Eugene shrugged. It was a bit of a wild shot but anything could be moving in next door.

 

“Alright then,” Bill said as he put his hand back out for Eugene to take. “So say it’s neither of those places. How do we decide who wins?”

 

“How about whoever’s closer?” Eugene suggested as he took a step back towards the front door. “Closest guess gets a free beer.”

 

“Works for me.”

 

“And don’t forget to lock the front _and_ the backdoor when you leave,” Eugene called over his shoulder as he walked out of the shop. “There have been a lot of break-ins around here lately.”

 

“Okay but if I leave the door open that means we won’t have to pay for whatever they broke to get inside,” Bill quipped; Eugene only managed to glare flatly in response. “Hey, we’ve been at this game for a while, I think it’s time you let up on the reigns a little.”

 

“I’ll see you upstairs,” Eugene said in farewell as he let the front door close behind him.

 

As Eugene walked up the back metal steps he tried to listen for any new voices or unfamiliar sounds but he only heard the usual muffled commotion that came with being in the city around rush-hour. When he reached the top of the stairs Eugene found that the previously empty half of the concrete balcony area was now covered in taped up boxes, pieces of second hand furniture, and a slightly rusted mountain bike. The place might have been empty when Eugene left that morning but there was definitely someone there now. The giant slab of concrete that made up the outdoor space for both apartments was only split up by a rusted waist-high fence. It didn’t exactly create a private atmosphere.

 

 _Goodbye private balcony_ , Eugene lamented as he pulled out his keys and entered his apartment. It was nice to have a quiet escape right on hand whenever he needed it. He guessed it was just another thing he’d have to get used to.

 

*           *           *

 

Even after all his years in the Corps and living up north with Bill, Eugene still was not a very capable person in the kitchen. More often than not he ended up setting off the smoke alarm in the apartment but practice made perfect and Eugene was too stubborn to let a couple almost-fires stop him. Bill wasn’t much of a cook either but having grown up without a housekeeper- unlike Eugene -he occasionally had to fend for himself and has always been able to whip up a grilled cheese or boil some water for pasta. At twenty-seven Eugene has roughly the same culinary skills as Bill did at twelve. Even though Bill was slightly more capable in the kitchen whenever it was his turn to throw dinner together, he almost always turned to takeout, even on their tight budget. Bill liked to say that after Eugene’s cooking they both needed a pick me up that only greasy takeout could solve.

 

Truth be told, the two of them and their shop were barely scrapping by. Every month since they opened making rent has been a struggle and all the loose change they found on the streets or in the couch cushions were put to use at dollar mug night at the bar down the street. Dollar store pasta and frozen pizzas were standard fare around the apartment and more than once they’ve had to have the power turned off in the apartment so that they could keep the shop running at top shape. It was a complete one-eighty from how Eugene was raised. When they first started out, Eugene’s father gave them a rather generous donation and Eugene felt that if times were truly dire he could turn to his father for more help but Eugene saw that as only an absolute last resort option; anything to keep him from having to return to Mobile full time.

 

There was something to be said about being truly independent, to work for every last thing that you had. Struggling and fighting for the shop gave him a real reason to get out of bed in the morning. It wasn’t an easy life but based off of all the choices he made for himself over the past decade, Eugene apparently wasn’t made for the easy life he was born into.

 

“Hi, honey, I’m home,” Bill declared tiredly as he entered the apartment a little while later and stepped into the kitchen. “What’d you make me for dinner?”

 

“Pulled out all the stops for you,” Eugene responded flatly as Bill lifted the lid off of one of the pots and peered inside.

 

“Spaghetti again.”

 

“ _With_ meatballs.”

 

“Whoa, who you tryna impress?”

 

Eugene and Bill didn’t have a kitchen table in their apartment; not only did they not have the room but it was just something that didn’t matter to them. They had a few slightly scratched coffee tables set up around the second-hand couches in the living room and that was enough in their books. Once the two were settled in their usual seats with their simple dinner, Bill flicked through their ancient television until he found the Red Sox’s game and swore loudly through a mouth full of spaghetti and cheap beer whenever they scored; Bill, who was a die-hard Yankees fan, absolutely hated the Red Sox and felt that the team was the worst part about the entire city of Boston.

 

“I’m calling it a night,” Eugene declared only half an hour later.

 

“Dude, it’s not even nine,” Bill pointed out. “It’s not like you’re the one whose gotta open tomorrow. You could at least stay up for the rest of the game.”

 

“Yeah well, I didn’t exactly get a whole lot of sleep last night so,” Eugene trailed off as he got up and walked to the kitchen so that he could dump his dirty dishes into the sink. “Might as well _try_ to get some sleep.”

 

“Well I’ll try to not be too loud,” Bill said right before he swore loudly at the scream as the Sox scored yet another run. “ _Fucking Christ_! He was not fucking safe the ump’s fucking blind-!”

 

“Night, Bill,” Eugene sighed with a shake of his head, unsurprised.

 

Sleep, like most nights, did not come quickly to Eugene even though every bone in his body felt heavy with exhaustion. He stayed awake through the rest of the baseball game and Bill’s swearing and his grumbling about sports teams while he got ready for bed. Sometime after Bill retired to bed but before the sounds of his snores could fill the apartment Eugene finally felt his mind begin to drift away into the grey realm of sleep…

 

Grey shifted to black…

 

_Black smoke…_

 

_It choked him. It blinded him. It turned day into night_

_“Os-Oswalt!” Eugene coughed. The smoke burned his throat and made him wheeze. It made him disorientated. Any training Eugene received was wiped clean from his memory and in its place there was only panic. “Oswalt!”_

_The smoke was still too thick too see and his ears were ringing so loudly it was almost painful. That’s why Oswalt wasn’t responding right? Because Eugene couldn’t hear him. Eugene reached out blindly, desperately for Oswalt and after a few failed swipes of burning hot sand he landed on something solid, possibly one of his friends’ legs or arms. Eugene latched onto the limb and tugged it, hoping for a response but instead he felt the object move unlike any body part should be able to move, as if it were separated from the rest of the body…_

 

“No…” Eugene moaned weakly. “Oh _no…”_

 

_Shocked and feeling ill, Eugene inhaled involuntarily as he jerked his hand away. Black smoke filled his lungs, strangling him. Things seemed to lighten around him; either the smoke was beginning to clear or Eugene was about to pass out from oxygen loss, he wasn’t sure. Eugene closed his eyes in case it was the latter; he didn’t want to see what would be left behind when the smoke cleared._

_He thought he heard someone was calling his name. Maybe he was just losing his mind from oxygen deprivation or his brain was scrambled by the blast. Suddenly something or someone gripped his ankle in a death grip and yanked-_

 

Eugene woke with a start. He jumped up into a sitting position and lunged forwards to grip his ankle. It was tingling uncomfortably, as if some phantom hand was still holding onto it. Eugene tightened his own hold on his ankle in a desperate attempt to make the tingling disappear. It wouldn’t go away.

 

Heaving a heavy sigh, Eugene folded in two so that his forehead rested against his shin. He knew his whole body was shaking, knew his heart was hammering against the inside of his ribcage, could feel how heavy his clothes felt and knew that they were soaked through with sweat. He was pathetic.

 

Six years. Probably at least once a week for the past six years Eugene’s mind replayed his friends last moments for him, over and over again, just in case witnessing it in person wasn’t bad enough. He had to have seen it hundreds of times now. It never got better. Eugene doubted it ever would get better. Time didn’t heal wounds, at least not wounds like these. Frankly Eugene gave up hope some time ago that there was anything in the world that would heal him.

 

Eugene felt his grip on his ankle slip slightly. His hands felt hot and wet. Eugene pulled back his hands, expecting to see them covered in sweat like the rest of his body he jumped when he found them rust colored. Blood. Eugene’s heartbeat ramped back up again while he tried to put the pieces together in his broken mind.

 

 _I’m seeing stuff now_ , he thought desperately, staring at his hands. The blood wouldn’t disappear from his hands no matter how many times he squeezed his eyes shut or shook his head.

 

“Go away, go away, _go away_ ,” Eugene hissed, panic rising quickly inside of him. Feeling borderline hysteric, Eugene leaped out of bed and felt a twinge of pain in his ankle. “ _Go-!”_

 

Eugene looked down at his hurt ankle, tangled in his bed sheets. He yanked and pulled at the cloth until his leg was freed. Eugene ran his fingers up and down his ankle and shin and found a tacky substance there, similar to whatever covered his hands. Even in the dim light of his room Eugene could see the deep, crescent shaped cuts that covered his ankle.

 

His body sagged against his bedroom wall, weary from his rapidly declining panic. Eugene looked at his hands again and saw how dark his fingernails were now. He hadn’t realized how tightly he was gripping his ankle, hadn’t even felt it when his fingernails broke the skin. Stepping around the tangled up fabric on the floor, Eugene headed for the bathroom where he half-heartedly cleaned the blood from his hands and his ankle before he wiped at the broken skin with some peroxide. As Eugene tossed the soiled cotton ball into the open toilet he noticed with an unpleasant twinge that his hands were still shaking.

 

“Christ,” Eugene swore before he stomped back to his bedroom, felt around his desk in the dark for the small, rusted metal case for a moment before he snatched it up and headed outside to the balcony.

 

Usually the cold of the night would have a bigger effect on him- it was still rather chilly in late May in Boston this time of night –but Eugene wasn’t exactly in the clearest state of mind to realize that the concreate of the balcony felt like ice on his bare feet or that his thin t-shirt was soaked in sweat and didn’t exactly help him retain any warmth. He didn’t care. Instead Eugene sat down on the tattered, moth-eaten arm chair they had set up on their half of the balcony and went to work packing his pipe.

 

He had heard enough jokes and wise cracks about his pipe to last a lifetime but no matter how many times Bill called him Popeye Eugene wouldn’t give it up. There was something calming about it, packing and lighting it, cleaning it when he was done. It gave him something to focus on when his mind was spinning with a million different thoughts and emotions. His mother hated his pipe, hated that he picked up smoking in the first place but again, it didn’t stop Eugene. He of course abided by her request when he was still at home to smoke outside; he always stepped outside to smoke no matter where and what company, it just felt rude not to. Even after everything, some remnant of his breeding still remained.

 

Unfortunately for Eugene, he could only pack and ready his pipe for so long. Once he sat down on the old musty armchair and inhaled the biter smoke the memories and nightmares came rushing back, muted and quieter now but still present.

 

The nightmares didn’t really start until after Eugene got home. Overseas, even right after it happened Eugene didn’t really have nightmares over it but then again, sleep was usually only granted to him after he hadn’t slept for a day or more. By that time he was normally so tired even flashbacks couldn’t break through his exhaustion. When he got back home, however, the nightmares attacked him in force.

 

His father tried to help him. He really did. His father, who served as a medic during the Vietnam War, at least had some inkling of the things Eugene saw and did overseas. Unlike Eugene’s mother, he realized that some of the deepest and most crippling of wounds couldn’t always be seen. His father had used this connections to get Eugene to one of the best therapist in southern Alabama, got him antidepressants and sleeping pills and antianxiety medication, did everything in his power to help his youngest son. It worked, to a degree. The medication was enough to get him out of bed and get him going through the day but he never felt like his old self; truthfully Eugene wasn’t sure if he knew what his old self felt like anymore. The sleeping pills he was prescribed were strong enough to get him to sleep but too weak to keep the nightmares away. The result was that often Eugene was trapped in some awful nightmare the medicine made impossible for him to escape from. Eugene hated his therapist or to put it more accurately he hated _talking_ to his therapist.

 

Dr. Grant was a perfectly fine person, middle aged and greying with a naturally kind face he reminded Eugene of his own father. Things were fine when Dr. Grant just wanted him to talk about anything- the weather, books he had read, how his family was –but once he started to push for more serious topics, ask how he was sleeping and eating, ask about nightmares and flashbacks, Eugene just couldn’t help but shut down. He didn’t want to talk about it, he couldn’t. He just wanted to take his medicine and get better, not have some crack doctor pry at his most painful thoughts and memories. What good would Dr. Grant have done anyways? He had never served, he wouldn’t have understood how Eugene felt. Eugene remembered the way Dr. Grant covertly jotted down notes about Eugene on the notebook he kept hidden on his lap, as if Eugene couldn’t tell he was doing it; he still felt the irritation flare up inside of him today. He felt like an animal on display being studied.

 

Things were going alright for Eugene for a little while before shit hit the fan again. His sleeping pills didn’t seem to be working as well as they used to and the stronger dose knocked him out for too long and left him in the fog for the rest of his waking hours. His anxiety medicine seemed to be weakening as well which forced him to stay inside and around his home more often than before much to his mother’s chagrin. He walked into every therapist session feeling tired and uneasy and always seemed to leave angrier and more frustrated than ever. His father told repeatedly to keep the faith, to keep trying, to switch to a different medicine if one wasn’t working and even asked if he wanted a different therapist but Eugene just couldn’t do it.

 

He was tired. He was tired and unbelievably frustrated and he barely had the energy to get out of bed anymore, let alone get dressed and go out into the world and have his most sensitive and complicated thoughts picked and prodded at for hours every week. He was sick of his mother asking him about his plans and his brother offering a job at the bank, both so sure that all Eugene needed was something to keep him occupied and he’d feel better. He was annoyed at his best friend Sidney for suggesting that time would fix his issues and he was even more annoyed at himself for believing his friend for a while; years later and it was quite obvious now that time was not gonna fix this mountain of shit Eugene willingly dragged himself into. Eventually, after weeks of arguing and back and forth Eugene dropped everything, all of his medication, his therapist, all against his father’s wishes. He just couldn’t do it. He wasn’t strong enough.

 

“Gene?”

 

Eugene jumped so violently he dropped his pipe on the ground, sending ashes and hot tobacco all over. He whipped around in his seat to find Bill standing in the doorway of their apartment, half dressed for work, arms half raised in a sign of defense.

 

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” Bill apologized. “How long you been out here, Gene?”

 

How long _had_ he been out there? Eugene blinked and looked at the grey early morning sky before he looked down at the tin in his lap and saw that half of his tobacco was gone. He remembered repacking his pipe once or twice but not that many times. Eugene wasn’t quite sure what time it was when he came out here but it had definitely been dark then. It had to have at least been an hour or two. Maybe more.

 

Eugene shrugged.

 

“A while I guess,” Eugene admitted as he bent down to grab his pipe from the ground.

 

He heard Bill grumble something as he stepped back inside but he wasn’t paying enough attention to hear distinct words. In the quiet of the early morning, Eugene could hear Bill stomping around the apartment, talking to himself as he did so. Another moment later and Bill was stepping out onto the balcony, pack of cigarettes and his lighter in one hand and a hoodie in the other.

 

“Here,” he said before he tossed the fabric at Eugene. “Your Bama blood is gonna freeze out here. Can’t let you get sick.”

 

“Thanks,” Eugene said as he pulled the thick material over his body; it wasn’t until this moment that he realized he was shivering. His bare feet were bright red and aching from the cold so he tucked them up under his body.

 

Bill walked over to the tattered couch they had set up against their side of the metal railing and sat down to light himself a cigarette. Once it was lit, Bill shoved his smokes and lighter into his hoodie pocket and stared out at the rising sun. Eugene didn’t expect him to speak, he very rarely did when he found Eugene out here like this. He didn’t blame him; Eugene never knew what to say when Bill got into one of his moods or he got a call from their local bar to come drag Bill home because he drank too much. They had been through everything together, had seen each other’s nightmares firsthand. Neither of them wanted to bring up old wounds; why cause two people to relieve that pain? What good would have come from that?

 

Eugene watched as Bill crushed his cigarette bud into the overflowing ash tray they had sat out on the milk crate they used as a table before he stood up.

 

“Go inside and take a nap, Gene,” Bill said before he lightly bumped Eugene’s temple with his knuckles, Bill’s own special form of endearment. “At least put on some goddamn shoes before you get sick. You know how good of a nurse I can be.”

 

“I’ll head in in a minute,” Eugene promised with a tired smile.

 

Bill didn’t say anything else before he disappeared down the rusted metal steps that led to the alley way below.

 

To the rest of the world, Bill might seem like a gruff and uncaring individual but to Eugene he was one of the best people on the planet. He did care, just in his own way. It took some time but after almost a decade of friendship Eugene was able to take his grumbles and scowls and occasional slaps upside the head and see them for what they really meant. Bill was there for Eugene when he was at his worst. When Eugene showed up out of the blue on the doorstep of his apartment in Brooklyn three years, Bill took him in and let him crash on his couch without a second thought. How many people would have done something like that for a friend? Sure, Bill might only like five people on the entire planet but to those lucky five, Bill would give the whole world to them.

 

*           *           *

 

Hours later Eugene stood outside the shop, water hose in hand with sun beaming down on him as he watered the plants put outside for display. He was in the middle of humming an off-key version of some overplayed pop song when he caught someone or something moving in his peripheral. Eugene turned in time to see a man around his age exiting the shop next door. He watched for a few minutes as the man exited and entered the building multiple times, bringing items from the truck parked out front while he held a conversation with someone who Eugene assumed was inside the building. He didn’t give off any indication of being a delivery man… Setting down the hose, Eugene cross the distance between shops in a few steps.

 

“Hi,” Eugene greeted the man as he exited the shop once again. Eugene extended his hand once the man noticed he was there. “I’m Eugene Sledge. I work just next door,” he said as he jerked thumb over his shoulder. “Are you going to be working at this…?” He trailed off. It was still difficult to tell what the heck the shop was going to become.

 

“Yeah, I am,” he answered after he shook Eugene’s hand. “Me and some of my buddies. Moved in next door with one of them too.”

 

“I live in the apartment above my shop too. Pretty decent place for what we’re being charged. Commute to work really can’t be beat,” Eugene said while he took in the man’s appearance.

 

He was slightly shorter than Eugene with brown eyes and the sandy brown hair that fell messily across his forehead had streaks of faded turquois. The dye had the appearance of once being bolder, possibly bluer, but most of its luster had gone down the drain after numerous washes. The hair was not even the most conspicuous aspect about the man. Both of his ears had a handful of metal piercings along the cartilage and he had a few colorful tattoos imprinted on both of his arms, the most eye-catching which was of a watercolor Blue Jay on his left bicep.

 

“Save some money not having to take the bus,” he commented. “Oh, I’m Jay by the way. Jay De L’eau.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Jay,” Eugene nodded before something clicked in his brain. He smiled as his gaze drifted from the bird on his bicep to the color in his hair. “Blue. Jay. Blue Jay,” he chuckled as he motioned at Jay’s appearance. “It’s funny.”

 

Jay did not seem to find it funny at all. Frowning, Jay brushed his bangs, as if running his fingers through them would take away the color magically.

 

“If I had a dollar every time I heard that,” he grumbled. “My friend Florence did it…she thinks she’s funny. She was grinning the whole time and I didn’t think anything of it. Unfortunately for me she uses some pretty strong stuff.”

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized. Jay shrugged.

 

Before either one of them could say another word, a voice called out from inside the shop.

 

_“Hey, Jay! Get your ass back in here! Don’t think you can hide out there forever, come back in here we got a ton of shit to do still.”_

 

“I gotta go,” Jay said as he took a step backwards toward his shop. “Nice meeting you though.”

 

“Nice meeting you too. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around plenty.”

 

Eugene turned and was about to head back to his task when a thought suddenly struck him. Turning back around quickly, Eugene called out to Jay just before he disappeared back inside the shop.

 

“Hey, what’s…what’s your shop gonna be anyways?” Eugene asked. “Just curious.”

 

“Tattoo parlor,” Jay answered simply.

 

“A tattoo parlor?” He hadn’t expected that but now that he got a look at Jay it made a little more sense.

 

“We also do piercings,” he added. “Might be able to give you a discount if you’re interested, us being neighbors and all.”

 

“A tattoo parlor,” Eugene muttered to himself as he walked back to his storefront and picked up his abandoned hose. A tattoo parlor was closer to a barber shop than a cell phone repair store right? “Think Bill owes me a beer.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'll try to come up with a posting schedule or something but if you know me... ya know, positing may not always happen as often as wanted. Sorry in advance 
> 
> Hope you like this; we'll introduce a couple more characters next chapter so stick around for that ;)
> 
> thanks for reading


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eugene and Bill meet the rest of their new neighbors, some of which they get along better with than others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who read last chapter; I'm so happy with all of the positive responses I've gotten from the first chap :) every comment I get really does make my day
> 
> now on to the second chapter, where we get to see a couple more familiar faces ;)

*           *           *

“What an _asshole,_ ” Bill growled as he slammed the front door behind him, the small bell jingling loudly from the force.

 

Eugene looked up from the magazine he was reading behind the counter and watched as his friend stomped into the store, annoyance rolling off of him in waves.

 

“Who’s an asshole?” Eugene asked, knowing that Bill was gonna tell him the answer regardless if he asked or not.

 

“The asshole next door!” Bill answered as he gestured wildly towards the building next door. “Guys just standing out front, chain-smoking like a motherfucker scaring away all our customers.”

 

“Hmm, I was wondering why people weren’t busting down our doors like usual,” Eugene commented dryly.

 

“Like what kind of guy doesn’t have the common curtsy to fucking smoke out back like the rest of us?” Bill continued on his tirade, unaffected by Eugene’s sarcasm. “Not only that but the guy just has this thousand yard stare that creeps the shit out of me. He’s like a fucking reject scarecrow someone dragged out of a Hot Topic with all his piercings and tattoos and shit.”

 

Tattoos and piercings? Eugene remembered Jay, the guy he met the day before. Sure, he only talked to the guy for a few minutes but he seemed like a mild mannered person, not this inconsiderate person Bill was describing.

 

“And one of those fuckers woke me up this morning blasting banjo music like what the hell? The walls are thin as shit I heard all of it.”

 

Sighing, Eugene closed his magazine and straightened up. Clearly today was going to be one of those days, where everything under the sun just crawled under Bill’s skin and pissed him off.

 

“Bill, I think you’re overreacting a little,” Eugene tried calmly.

 

“I am not,” Bill insisted. “Go outside and get a load of the guy for yourself! Tell me he’s not scaring people off.”

 

The bell tinkled suddenly and both men turned abruptly to find a middle-aged woman, standing in the doorway with wide eyes, clearly surprised by the scene she had just walked into.

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized quickly as he put on his professional face. “Please, come in.”

 

The woman hesitated for a moment where she eyed Bill suspiciously before she stepped into the store, the door closing behind her.

 

“Can I help you with anything?”

 

As Eugene stepped around the counter to assist the woman, he paused in front of Bill and hissed, “ _You’re_ the one scaring off customers, Bill, calm down.”

 

Bill didn’t say anything. Instead he stomped into the back office, closing the door behind him a little harder than necessary. Hopefully his mood wouldn’t last long; days like today where Bill was in the mood to pick a fight with anything and everything were always long and exhausting for Eugene.  

 

*           *           *

 

As Eugene walked up the backstairs after his shift he heard voices coming from the balcony. Bracing himself for encounter, Eugene climbed to the top and found two men standing on the other half of the balcony, smoking and talking calmly. One of them was Jay, the other Eugene didn’t know. He looked to be about the same age as them, had a square jaw, broad shoulders, and his muscular arms were covered in dark ink.

 

“Hey,” Eugene greeted Jay quietly as he stopped in the middle of his half of the balcony.

 

“Hey,” Jay said in return before he turned to look at the man who was leaning against the exterior of the building. “Burgie, this is Eugene. He works at the shop next door.”

 

The man, Burgie, plucked the cigarette out of his mouth and extended his free hand over the metal railing for Eugene to shake.

 

“Romus Burgin. Most people just call me Burgie,” he said, blue eyes staring with an intensity Eugene didn’t often see in civilian life. It almost felt as if he was being x-rayed.

 

“Eugene Sledge. Are you going to be working downstairs as well?”

 

“Yes, I am.”

 

“Burgie doesn’t live here though,” Jay explained. “He lives down the street with his wife.”

 

Eugene watched as Burgin’s face softened ever so slightly. He wasn’t sure if Jay was being serious about Burgin having a wife or if he was just taking the piss out of him. He didn’t bother to ask for clarification.

 

“Do you think we should head back down there?” Jay asked as he checked the time on his watch.

 

“I think we can let Snafu sweat it out by himself for a little while longer,” Burgin decided with a smile. “He didn’t get down to the shop until late, he can do a little extra work. It’s only fair.”

 

“Snafu?” Eugene asked, curious.

 

“Our other friend,” Burgin answered. “It’s his nickname.”

 

“If we went downstairs right now do you honestly think we’d find Snafu hard at work?” Jay asked Burgin. “He’s probably asleep.”

 

“Yeah well I’m not in the mood to chew him out just yet so I’ll give him another minute while I finish this,” he said as he gestured to his half-smoked cigarette.

 

_Bzzz…bzzzz…_

 

Eugene glanced down at his suddenly vibrating pocket before he pulled out his cell phone. He glanced at his phone and read the name that popped up on the screen: Sidney.

 

“Sorry to run but I gotta take this,” Eugene said as he fished out his keys and quickly unlocked his apartment door. “Nice meeting you Burgie.”

 

“See ya around, Sledge,” Burgin said before Eugene disappeared inside.

 

“Hello?” Eugene answered on the last ring.

 

“ _Almost thought you weren’t gonna answer, old greaser_.”

 

Eugene could hear the smile in his friend’s voice. It made him smile in return.

 

“Nah, I was just trying to make you sweat,” Eugene countered as he walked through his apartment and settled on one of the couches in the living room. “Clearly it worked.”

 

“ _Only in your dreams, Eugene_ ,” Sidney said firmly. “ _So…how’ve you been?”_

 

How has he been? Compared to other people he probably couldn’t be described as ‘okay’ but compared to how bad he’s been in the past, okay was probably a good gauge of where he was at right now.

 

“I’ve been pretty good, Sid,” Eugene answered honestly. “Been doing okay.”

 

_“How’s the shop doing?”_

 

“Still standing. Gonna ask if I’ve been eating and sleeping well next?” Eugene asked, keeping his voice light so that Sidney would know he was only joking; he appreciated that his friend still bothered to check in with him every now and again to make sure he was still doing alright.

 

Sidney was his best friend from back home. His father and Eugene’s father went to medical school together and their families had been friends since before the two of them were born. Growing up the two of them were always partners in crime and seemingly inseparable, the two of them even joined the Marines together. Things changed however when Sidney got orders to be stationed on Okinawa and Eugene got his orders to head over to Iraq. Even though the two weren’t nearly as close as they used to be, they still had a deep bond that couldn’t be erased and that bond meant that every few weeks Sidney would call him up to catch up. Sometimes the calls would only last a few minutes and sometimes they’d last for an hour. Usually at some point during the calls Sidney would pass along messages to Eugene from his family because it was such a rarity for Eugene to actually pick up a call from his own mother or brother.

 

 _“Your brother keeps calling me to tell you to pick up the damn phone next time he calls,”_ Sidney said. _“He said it’d be nice if he knew you were alive and weren’t dead in an alleyway somewhere.”_

 

“Uh, yeah… my phone keeps not showing me when I missed a call,” Eugene said slowly, his mind working at half pace as he stared at a water stain in his ceiling. “Maybe I should get a new phone or something.”

 

 _“Wow, well I see that your ability to lie has not improved any with age_ ,” Sidney declared flatly, seeing straight through his bullshit. _“I’ll try to come up with a better excuse for you when I pass along the message.”_

 

“Thanks,” Eugene smiled.

 

_“Yeah, yeah, you owe me for it. You can’t avoid your brother forever, Eugene.”_

 

“I sure can try though,” he said as he struggled to kick off his tennis shoes.

 

_“Speaking of other things you try to avoid, would it kill you to answer your mother for once? I don’t give a shit if you don’t answer Edward’s calls but you gotta answer your mom every now and again okay? She damn near broke down my door the other day asking if I’ve heard from you. She keeps yelling at me like it’s my fault.”_

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized lamely. He had no doubt in his mind that his mother would have driven across town and broken down his friend’s door in an attempt to get information about him. Eugene got a lot of flak for being stubborn as a mule sometimes but it was nothing on his mother. “I meant to call her the other day but I had some issues down at the shop and it slipped my mind.”

 

 _“Uh huh, sure,”_ he said skeptically. _“She is pretty broken up about you not talking to her though. You keep in pretty constant contact with your dad but you won’t talk to her for a few minutes to let her know you’re still alive?”_

 

“I know, Sidney,” Eugene snapped. “Did you just call me to make me feel like shit?”

 

_“No, Eugene, I’m just making sure you realize-”_

 

“I realize okay?” Eugene growled as he sat up, feeling angry. “It’s just…”

 

The line went silent. They’d had this conversation several times before and it always ended the same. Eugene knew that he was hurting his mother by not talking to her, knew he was hurting her even more by talking to his father frequently while he kept silent to her. He knew this but he still couldn’t stop himself. Ever since he came home there was always a distance between the two of them. He didn’t want there to be, Eugene wished things could just go back to how they used to be but anytime Eugene tried to breach the gap it ended with Eugene getting angry and his mother getting upset. It just caused more damage than it fixed.

 

 _“I know_ ,” Sidney sighed heavily, breaking the silence. _“I’m sorry, Eugene, I shouldn’t have-”_

 

“It’s fine,” Eugene huffed as he laid back down on the couch. “Didn’t mean to snap at you.”

 

 _“It’s okay,”_ Sidney said.

 

The warmth and happiness that had arrived when Sidney first called was blown away by Eugene’s outburst. Now all that was left was a tension that was all Eugene’s fault.

 

“How’s Mary?” Eugene asked in an attempt to salvage the conversation.

 

_“She’s good, she’s good. She hasn’t kicked me to the curb yet.”_

 

“ _Yet_ is the key word in that sentence. Give it some time, I’m still sure she’ll come to her senses eventually.”

 

_“I dunno. It’s almost been a year. I think I might be wearing her down. If she was gonna bolt I think she’d done it by now.”_

 

“She’s just waiting for when you’re least expecting it. But when she does leave you, let me know. I’ll make sure to send my address her way.”

 

 _“Asshole,”_ Sidney said, his voice full of endearment. “ _Hey I know…I know you’re busy with your shop and everything but I was kinda wondering when you were planning on coming down to visit again. It’s a little too quiet around here without you.”_

“I don’t know,” Eugene admitted honestly. “It’s only me and Bill at the shop…it a little hard to find time off to come down.”

 

_“I know. It’s just been so long since I’ve seen your ugly mug that I’m actually starting to miss it.”_

 

“I guess it has been pretty long then,” Eugene muttered. “But I’ll try man. I’ll try to find the time to come down soon okay?”

 

It was a lie.

 

_“Yeah, okay, Eugene. Just let me know if you’re ever headed down south. I’ll clear my schedule.”_

 

It was a lie and Eugene knew Sidney knew it. He appreciated that his friend didn’t call him out on his bullshit this time. Sidney pushed the line from time to time but he knew never to cross it.

 

“Hey it was really nice catching up, Sid, but I gotta get going. Bill’s yelling for me, issue down at the shop,” Eugene lied.

 

“ _No problem, get to it. Good talking to you again too, you old greaser.”_

 

“Talk to you later,” Eugene said with a sad smile on his face.

 

The line clicked dead and Eugene let the arm that was holding his phone drop limply to the floor, his cell phone clattered softly against the scratched hardwood. Sidney was right. It had been a long time since they’ve seen each other, not since Eugene went down to Mobile almost a year ago for Sidney’s wedding. No way was Eugene going to let Sidney stand up at the altar alone, no matter how difficult it was for Eugene to be back home.

 

He missed Sidney, he really did. Even if Eugene could find the energy to head back to Mobile, Eugene wasn’t sure if he could. The flower shop wasn’t busy but it was a lot for one person to run all by themselves; Eugene couldn’t leave Bill to deal with that by himself. Sure, he could offer for Sidney to take the trip up north to see him but it wasn’t easy for him either. Sidney was married and in the middle of medical school and creating a future. He wasn’t in the position to drop everything for a few days to goof around with his friend.

 

It was crazy to think of just how far apart Eugene was from his childhood friend. Ever since they were kids Eugene had always been a step or two behind Sidney but the gap between them always seemed navigable. Now however, Sidney was happily married and working towards his dream job while Eugene was sitting in his crappy apartment, struggling to get by with his only plan for the future was to make it to the next day. Sidney was lightyears ahead of him now. Eugene doubted he’d ever catch up now.

 

Feeling drained, Eugene reached out for the television remote and clicked on the television. He settled on some rerun of one of the many procedural crime shows before he dropped the remote on the ground and settled in for the night.        

 

*           *           *

 

_BANG!_

 

“Fucking asshole who does he think he is? Sitting out front-”

 

Eugene sprung up, suddenly wide awake and disorientated. It was dark, the only light came from the glow of the television. He could see someone moving around the kitchen, yelling and smashing around the area. Eugene felt his mind and body jump into hyper drive while he struggled to figure out what was going on. He didn’t remember falling asleep. Wait, was this a dream? Eugene looked around the dark living room frantically…for what? Something that would magically tell him if this was dream or reality?

 

Suddenly Eugene was blinded by a bright white light. Hissing, Eugene threw an arm over his eyes in an attempt to shield himself. The dark shadow of a figure approached him and Eugene felt his heart jump in his chest.

 

“-gonna put a fucking ‘no smoking’ sign out front if he won’t stop. Least tell him to put on a fucking shirt what the hell.”

 

Eugene rubbed at his eyes. When he pulled his hands away he found them better adjusted to the light. Able to see finally, Eugene realized that the dark yelling form that burst into his apartment was only Bill, pissed off about…something, he really didn’t have the energy or interest to care. He was too busy trying to slow his heartbeat down to a normal pace.

 

“Wait, what’re you talking about Bill?” Eugene asked as calmly as he could manage; he still felt a little shook up from Bill’s entrance.

 

“The fucking weirdo chain-smoker from this morning!” Bill exclaimed. “Like he wasn’t bad enough when he was out there just staring and smoking like a chimney stack. He comes out a little while ago, fucking no shirt, covered in tattoos. Like, who does that?”

 

“Someone trying to self-advertise their shop?” Eugene suggested with a sigh. His momentary panic was subsiding, only to be replaced by his bone deep exhaustion, leaving no room to entertain Bill’s gripes. “Probably good for business.”

 

“For _their_ business, not ours,” Bill continued to fume before he stepped backwards towards the kitchen door. “Ya know what? Fuck this. I need a drink.”

 

Without another word, Bill exited through the door he had just entered through, returning Eugene to his lonesome. Yawning, Eugene felt around the floor blindly until he found his cell phone. He checked to make sure it was still somewhat charged, just in case tonight was one of those nights where he got a call somewhere around last call to head down the street to pick up Bill off of the bar floor.

 

Eugene didn’t want to move, he was comfortable enough still that he could probably fall back asleep if he tried, but he knew he shouldn’t. He wasn’t as young as he used to be and his body wouldn’t be pleased if he passed up his relatively comfortable bed that was only a few feet down the hall to sleep on the lumpy couch. Keeping a firm grip on his cell phone, Eugene sat up, turned off the television, and headed to bed, hoping wistfully for a few solid hours of sleep that weren’t interrupted by nightmares or phone calls from exasperated bartenders.

 

*           *           *

 

When Eugene opened his eyes the following morning it was to the terrible racket of his alarm clock. In that moment Eugene was almost thankful he so rarely heard the awful noise, seeing as most nights he was woken up by nightmares hours before the alarm. Once his alarm was silenced, Eugene stayed in bed, flat on his back, feeling just as tired as he would if he had been woken up hours ago screaming. Just because he managed to sleep through a whole night didn’t necessarily mean the sleep he got was any good. He felt like he spent the whole night in a grey fog, just one step below consciousness, always ready for a phone call or for Bill to come storming in, still angry but now piss drunk.

 

Knowing he’d be late to opening the shop if he dawdled much longer, Eugene pulled himself out of his bed and down the hall. He paused for a second outside the bathroom and waited until he heard Bill’s obnoxiously loud snores from next door. Pleased that Bill managed to get home and was still alive, Eugene continued on his morning rituals and hoped since Bill let some steam out yesterday, that today would be a little more peaceful.

 

The shop was quiet that morning. Two older ladies were in and out of the shop with their purchases within minutes and the only excitement came in the form of an almost frantic man a little older than Eugene who settled on the first bouquet his eyes landed on- which also happened to be one of the most expensive ones but Eugene didn’t stop to mention it –before he went flying out of the store. Bill came shuffling into the store about a half an hour after his shift officially started but Eugene didn’t say anything; he looked grey and exhausted and had the air of very sensitive bomb that was set to go off at the slightest irritation. His mood stayed sour until Eugene returned from lunch with a greasy paper bag containing Bill’s favorite cheese burger and fries from a hole in the wall restaurant a few blocks away. After Bill was watered and fed and his arteries were sufficiently clogged with grease he was back to his usual boisterous, sarcastic self. It made Eugene smile.

 

Eugene was walking into the main floor from the back with two new flower arrangements when the shop door opened and in bounced a pretty young woman. She was already conspicuous simply by standing with her soft lavender colored hair and two arms covered almost completely in tattoos but when she spoke she had no chance of blending in.    

 

“G’day, cobbers!” she exclaimed in a thick Australian accent. “What’s the news?”

 

Eugene turned to look at Bill, hoping he had a proper response to the strange young woman but Bill’s face was just as hopelessly clueless as Eugene felt. He turned back to face the woman again and just as Eugene was struggling to put on his professional face, to ask her if she needed help with something, the woman erupted in laughter, causing even more confusion for Eugene and Bill.

 

“I’m just fucking with you,” the woman laughed, her accent still present but much lighter than before. “I’m gonna be working in the shop next door. Just wanted to stop by and introduce myself since we’re gonna be neighbors.”

 

“Uh, right,” Eugene nodded, still recovering slightly from her interesting entrance.

 

“Name’s Florence,” she said before she extended her hand to Eugene who was closest. “Everyone just calls me Flo.”

 

“Eugene Sledge,” he introduced himself.

 

“Nice to meet you, Gene,” she said pleasantly before she took a step toward Bill and extended her hand to him as well.

 

“Bill,” he responded flatly as he accepted her hand.

 

“And hello, Bill.”

 

“Flo? There you are.”

 

Eugene turned to the source of the new voice and found Burgin standing in the doorway of the shop.

 

“You trying to escape from work?” Burgin asked in a light tone as he stepped into the shop.

 

“No, I’m just being a good neighbor and introducing myself,” Florence explained as she walked towards Burgie and wrapped one of her arms around Burgie’s before she addressed Bill and Eugene again. “Have you two met my husband yet?”

 

Eugene couldn’t help but note the hint of pride in her voice when she said ‘husband’.

 

“Yeah I met them both yesterday, Flo,” Burgin answered. “But we _do_ need to get back to the shop. At the rate Jay and Snafu are moving we won’t get the shop set up until next week.”

 

“Fine,” Florence sighed before she addressed Bill and Eugene again. “It really was nice meeting your two. We should go out for drinks sometime!”

 

With another smile and a parting wave, Florence and Burgin exited the store.

 

“You think her accent’s real like her hair or like her tattoos?” Bill mused once the door closed behind the couple.

 

“Do you honestly think she’s faking an accent? Doesn’t that seem a little extreme?”

 

“I dunno, Gene, I’ve met some crazy women in my day-”

 

“Don’t remind me,” Eugene sighed heavily as his mind drifted back to the time where he and Bill split a one room apartment; he really had seen too much already in his short life.

 

“I’m just sayin’ it’s plausible.”

 

“Yeah well, based off of the three minutes I’ve spend talking to that Burgin I think it’s a safe bet to say he has less weird tastes in women than you do,” Eugene stated frankly.

 

“What the hells that supposed to mean?” Bill asked, sounding slightly offended.

 

“What I mean is that I doubt Florence is faking an accent and you _really_ need to have slightly higher standards for the women you bring home.”

 

*           *           *

 

The afternoon was just as quiet as the morning had been; Eugene passed the time by creating new displays for outside while Bill spent most of his shift reading a magazine behind the counter.

 

“Bill, if I come back inside and you’re still reading that damn magazine, you’re gonna open every day next week,” Eugene warned Bill as he loaded up the new display pieces onto the cart.

 

“Almost finished with this anyways,” Bill muttered as Eugene exited the shop.

 

The flowers outside were starting to wilt and brown around the edges; not exactly the best for business. Yawning heavily, Eugene worked quickly to replace the old displays while his thoughts drifted to maybe taking a nap once his shift was over in an hour.

 

 _Need a shower first_ , Eugene thought as he paused to wipe the sweat off of his forehead with his shirt sleeve; the afternoon sun was really beating down on him today.

 

Eugene straightened up, ready to get back to work, when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, his sixth sense telling him he had eyes on him. Eugene turned in the direction of the stare and found a pair of large unblinking grey eyes staring at him from outside the tattoo parlor next door. The owner of the eyes was a man roughly Eugene’s age, slightly too skinny to be healthy, the tan skin that covered his hands had harsh lines of black ink and the cigarette that dangled out of the corner of his partially opened mouth bumped against the metal hoop of his lip piercing. All of this was covered by a shock of unruly, curly dark hair. Eugene waited a moment to see if the man would possibly snap out of the trance he seemed to have fallen into but no dice; he continued to stare at Eugene with such an intensity it unnerved him slightly.

 

“Can I help you with something?” Eugene asked, starting to feel annoyed with the attention.

 

The man plucked the cigarette out of his mouth and chuckled through a cloud of cigarette smoke, his eyes continuing to stare unblinkingly at Eugene.

 

“Dunno. Depends on what you’re offering, _cher_ ,” he purred, cocky grin on full display.

 

Eugene felt a chill crawl up his spine; he wasn’t sure if it was because of the man’s words or his tone or his demeanor. Whatever it was, it didn’t sit well with him. Eugene watched the man for another moment but turned away when he returned his cigarette to his mouth, done so in a lewd manner that made the back of Eugene’s neck hot. He heard the man chuckle again but he didn’t look up; the quicker he got the display in order the quicker he could go inside and get away from the man’s intense gaze.

 

“Snafu,” Burgin’s voice rang from behind him. “Would you quit harassing Sledge and get your scrawny ass back inside? You aren’t done yet.”

 

“Damn, Burgie, what would my life be like if I didn’t have you constantly crackin’ that whip at me?” the man, Snafu, gripped.

 

Eugene glanced over his shoulder and watched as Burgin stepped out of the shop, looking as annoyed as Eugene felt a few moments ago.

 

“Probably would be a lot quieter, seeing as your dumb ass would have gotten yourself killed years ago without me,” Burgin answered flatly. “Now get inside.”

 

“Ain’t you gonna let me finish my smoke first?” Snafu whined as he held up his partial cigarette.

 

“Fine, you got a minute. But if I come back out here and you’re still sucking on that I’m gonna make you eat whatever’s left,” Burgin warned before he stepped back inside.

 

Eugene watched as Snafu placed the cigarette between his lips and inhaled until it burnt down to the filter. Snafu exhaled a cloud of smoke before he flicked the smoldering bud into the street. Eugene watched the wide arch of the cigarette before he glanced back at Snafu and found with a jolt that Snafu’s pale eyes were back on him. Thankfully, Snafu didn’t say anything else. Instead he just gave Eugene an over exaggerated wink before he slipped back inside of his shop, leaving Eugene alone on the sidewalk with a feeling growing in his gut that told him that life as he knew it around the shop had surely come to a swift and decisive end with the arrival of his new neighbors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading :) 
> 
> I'll try to update as soon as I can but no promises since i've got like 6 weeks left in my undergraduate left so i'll probably have to focus a little extra time on my school work so that i don't accidentally fail something and not graduate (although like, wouldn't be the worst thing if i didn't graduate. i don't wanna be slightly more of a fake adult...)
> 
> anyways, hope you enjoyed the chap ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eugene and Bill get to know their new neighbors a little better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thanks so much for the positive response from last chapter :) You guys are awesome! 
> 
> BTW, if any of you guys like band of brothers and Luztoye, I wrote a fic for the bob big bang and it's up on my ao3 if you want to go check it out :) it's completely finished so you can binge read it in one sitting
> 
> nother quick shoutout to my awesome editor/aussie translator May <3 you the real mvp
> 
> Sorry the wait for this chap was a little longer than the others (busy with school :/) hope that this chap makes up for it :)

* * *

_Eugene couldn’t say how he got back to camp. All he knew was one second he was lying on his back in the middle of the desert, sucking in black smoke and then the next he was being sat down on a cot in the cool shade of a tent back at camp. People talked to him or at least tried to but Eugene couldn’t make heads or tails with any of it; everyone sounded like they were talking behind a thick sheet of glass. A man kneeled in front of him before he poked and prodded up and down Eugene’s arms, his legs, his torso, shined a light in Eugene’s eyes…_

Corpsman _, Eugene realized in the back of his clouded mind._

 

_He could see the man’s mouth moving, could see him wave a hand in front of Eugene’s eyes, but Eugene couldn’t hear, couldn’t respond. He still felt paralyzed by the blast. Eugene watched as the man turned to someone, mouth moved again with words he couldn’t understand, before he got up. In his place another man kneeled down in front of him and placed a comforting hand on his knee while Eugene’s clouded mind tried to put a name with the face. Brown hair the desert sun bleached blond, blue eyes, a kind smile surrounded by a layer of stubble- Ack Ack._

Captain Haldane, _Eugene reminded himself of the man’s proper title._

_Again, he could see Ack Ack’s mouth moving but no words penetrated Eugene’s mind. Eugene squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that when he opened them, maybe some of the fog would be lifted. Ack Ack’s voice came through finally, muffled and distorted. It didn’t sound right, didn’t sound like his voice, it confused Eugene. Opening his eyes, Eugene focused on Ack Ack’s mouth and tried to decipher what the man was trying to say._

_Eugene… Eugene…_

_Eugene squeezed his eyes shut again and hoped that when he opened them again he would be back in his rack and that this all turned out to be just a nightmare from hell._

 

“Eugene.”

 

Eugene opened his eyes and felt a wave of disorientation come over him when instead of seeing Ack Ack’s face in front of him, he got Bill’s face leaning over him along with the water-stained ceiling of the apartment hovering above him and the scratchy material of the couch below him. He jumped involuntarily as things clicked into place, causing Bill to jerk back to avoid getting head-butted by Eugene.

 

“Whoa there,” Bill said as he steadied himself, having almost fallen over from the crouching position he had balanced himself in.

 

He was in his living room. He hadn’t even realized he had fallen asleep after his shift.

 

“Sorry,” Eugene mumbled as he rubbed at his sleep-filled eyes. “But can you blame me? Your face isn’t exactly the most pleasant thing to wake up to.”

 

“Can’t believe I deal with this treatment,” Bill huffed sarcastically as he got up from the floor and walked to the kitchen. “I would have let you sleep but I got dinner and you’re still one scrawny bastard, Gene- you can’t afford to skip a meal.”

 

“Slaving away over a hot stove I see,” Eugene yawned as he looked at the kitchen counter and saw that it was covered in white Styrofoam take out containers.

 

“Only the best for you,” Bill said flatly as he ducked into the fridge and pulled out two beers; Eugene caught his with practiced ease.

 

“And would it kill you to actually use a plate instead of just eating out of your hand, Bill?” Eugene asked as he cracked open his beer and rushed to suck up the excess foam that exploded out of the opening. “I’m tired of finding old pizza crusts in the couch cushions. We buy plates for a reason. We’re gonna get cockroaches.”

 

“Cockroaches ain’t shit,” Bill stated as he pulled out the pack of paper plates from the cupboard anyways and handed one to Eugene.

 

“Thanks,” Eugene said as he watched Bill load up his plate with pizza, wings, and cheese fries.

 

“Sox’s are down five to three with two innings left,” Bill stated through a mouthful of grease and cheese.

 

“Think they’ll pull through?” Eugene asked as he loaded up his own plate and Bill wandered into the living room to turn on the game.

 

“Fucking better not!” Bill yelled, causing Eugene to chuckle.

 

After too many pieces of pizza and too many hot wings, the game ended- the Red Sox managed to pull another victory out much to Bill’s dismay –and Eugene and Bill headed out onto the porch for a much needed smoke break. The porch wasn’t empty.

 

“Hey guys,” Flo greeted them from where she stood on the other half of the porch. Jay sat perched on the metal railing that divided the porches. “What’s up?

 

“Nothing much,” Eugene answered politely while Bill lit up a cigarette. “What about you guys?”

 

“Waiting for Snafu and Burgie to finish up downstairs,” Jay answered. “Then we’re going out for a couple drinks.”

 

“Celebrate _finally_ getting the shop in order,” Flo explained tiredly before she perked up a little and smiled at the two of them. “Hey, why don’t you come out with us?”

 

“Huh?” Bill grunted, taken off guard.

 

“Come out for a bit,” Flo insisted. “You guys seem pretty chill and we’re gonna be around each other quite a bit from now on. Maybe you can show us around the neighborhood a bit. What’d you say?”

 

Eugene turned to look at Bill and shrugged. Eugene really usually wasn’t one for going out, seeing as most days he had to wake up with the sun and liked to at least attempt a couple hours of sleep a night. Tomorrow morning, however, was the one day a week that Bill and Eugene agreed to close the shop so that they could each get a chance to breathe. Sure, maybe Bill only had bad things to say about that Snafu guy and Eugene had had a false start with the man too, but from what he saw Flo, Jay, and Burgie all seemed relatively normal and friendly and Florence _did_ have a point: they were going to see a lot of each other from now on; it was probably best to at least try to be friends.

 

When neither Eugene nor Bill responded, Flo turned to look at Jay, clearly hoping for an ally.

 

“Don’t you think that’s a good idea, Jay?” Flo asked, her voice light but the look in her eyes was much sterner.

 

“Yeah, sure,” Jay conceded, sounding very neutral on the subject. “Doubt Burgie or Snaf’ll mind.”

 

“And if they do, who gives a shit,” Flo declared boldly before she turned back to look at Eugene. “I mean what else have you gotta do? Have a little fun.”

 

“Okay,” Eugene decided before he glanced back at Bill, who shrugged. “We actually know of a pretty good bar down the road that has some good deals we can show you.”

 

“Awesome!” Flo exclaimed before she checked the time on her phone quickly. “Okay but I gotta run back to my place before we go out but Jay can just text me or Rom where you guys are at later.”

 

With a parting wave, Florence exited down the back steps and disappeared around the corner. Now without Florence present to act as social lubricant, Jay, Eugene, and Bill passed the time mostly by smoking and occasionally informing Jay on ins and outs of their neighborhood he should be made aware of- which bars to avoid and which ones to head to only on certain days, what Chinese place was overpriced and decidedly not worth it and what laundromat was closest and cheapest. All in all, it was pretty easy to talk to Jay. Sure, he was a little quiet and not the most open to small talk which led to the occasional lapse in conversation but Eugene wasn’t exactly the best at small talk either anymore so he wasn’t one to complain. After about a half an hour of casual back and forth, Eugene decided that he liked Jay.

 

“Damn Jay, while me and Burgie were sweating it out downstairs you were having yourself a fucking party,” Snafu complained as he walked up the last few steps and stopped at the top, pale eyes moving between the three of them, his eyes pausing just slightly too long on Eugene.

 

 _Well at least we get along with one of our new neighbors_ , Eugene thought while he busied himself with cleaning out his pipe so that he wouldn’t have to meet Snafu’s dead eyed stare.

 

“It’s what you get for showing up late again,” Jay responded simply. “Go hurry and wash up, you smell like a gym bag.”

 

“Why? We moving this shindig somewhere else?”

 

“Yeah we’re headed out in fifteen,” Jay declared as he glanced at his watch. “So get in there and hose yourself off; we’ve been waiting long enough.”

 

“Wouldn’t have been waiting so long if you would’ve kept your ass downstairs and helped,” Snafu pointed out.

 

“I did my time, you had to do yours,” Jay said flatly. “So are you coming or what?”

 

Snafu didn’t respond immediately. Instead he took a moment to give Eugene and Bill a once over with an unreadable expression on his face.

 

“Is it just us or is it…everybody?” he asked as his eyes drifted back to Jay.

 

“If everyone includes me and Gene here then yeah, it’s everybody,” Bill spoke up, irritation clearly brewing right on under the surface.

 

Eugene watched as Snafu chuckled slightly before he stepped towards the door that led to his and Jay’s apartment and yanked the screen door open.

 

“Head out without me,” Snafu decided. “I’ll catch up.”

 

“You sure?” Jay asked.

 

“I’m a big boy, Jay, I ain’t gonna feel hurt if you leave without me. ‘Sides, I’m gonna need more than a couple minutes.”

 

“Whatever you say,” Jay sighed as Snafu walked into the apartment and let the screen door clatter behind him. “Let one of us know when you’re headed out; we’ll tell you where we’re at.”

 

Snafu didn’t respond to Jay’s words but Jay didn’t seem concerned by it. Instead he turned to Eugene and Bill and said, “I’m ready to go when you are.”

 

“I just need to put this away,” Eugene responded as he lifted up his pipe and walked back inside of his apartment to stow it away.

 

“So how far away is this place?” Jay asked the three of them headed down the slightly crowded sidewalk; people of all sorts of ages were currently scrambling up and down the streets while they attempted to make happy hour.

 

“Only three more blocks,” Eugene answered.

 

“What’s the name of this bar?” Jay asked as he pulled out his cell phone, presumably so that he could let the others know where they were headed.

 

Eugene informed him of the named before the three of them fell into an easy silence. When they arrived at the bar, they were lucky enough to snag a table in a not too crowded corner. Eugene waved politely at one of the regular bartenders before he sat down in his seat.

 

“I’ll get the first round,” Jay decided as he glanced up at the specials board behind the bar.

 

“Are you sure?” Eugene asked, surprised.

 

“Yeah. Why not,” Jay shrugged. “Better to get it now than when the other three are here and I’m paying for six.”

 

“Smart man,” Bill nodded as he sat down. “Take a Bud Lite.”

 

“Uh, same,” Eugene said before Jay nodded and disappeared towards the bar.

 

“That other guy may be off his rocker but this guy’s alright,” Bill decided as he settled into his seat.

 

“Figured that’s all it would take for the new neighbors to win you over,” Eugene said with a hint of a smile.

 

“Hey, he hasn’t completely won me over yet.”

 

“But he’s definitely making a strong case in your book,” Eugene finished as he cast his eyes around the dimly lit bar, half listening to the 80’s rock that played softly from the jukebox in the front of the bar.

 

Jay appeared a few minutes later balancing three beers in his hand.

 

“Burgie and Flo are on their way,” Jay informed them as he checked his phone; he didn’t say anything about Snafu and neither of them asked.

 

By the time the three of them were almost through their first round, Burgie and Flo entered the bar; Eugene could make out Florence’s pastel colored hair from the other side of the bar.

 

“Hey guys,” Flo greeted them as she sat down; Burgie gave a quick hello before he headed back to the bar to grab drinks for he and Flo. “Where’s Snaf?” she asked as she looked around the table and noticed the empty seat.

 

“He said he’s gonna meet up with us later,” Jay answered.

 

“Okay, sure,” Florence said skeptically before she wiped the slightly annoyed look from her face and smiled. “So, did I miss anything interesting?”

 

Eugene and Flo easily carried small talk- mostly about mundane things about the neighborhood Flo missed when she left the porch early –until Burgin came back to the table with two drinks in hand.

 

“Here ya go, hon,” Burgin said as he set down Florence’s drink in front of her.

 

“Aww, thanks, babe,” Florence gushed before she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a defined lipstick stain on his face; neither one of them made any move to remove the lipstick stain.

 

“You got a little something on your face, Burgie,” Jay said flatly, not even brothering to look at his friend; Eugene got the feeling this was a common occurrence with the three of them.

 

“What? Don’t think it’s my color?”

 

“Ehh, I think he’s got a point, babe,” Flo conceded as she reached out to wipe the mark off of his face. “Pink’s not exactly your colour. Blue’s always brought out your eyes more.”

 

Eugene glanced at Bill and found him looking particularly displeased with their displays of affection, causing him to grin into his glass. Now Eugene wasn’t exactly known for his dating prowess so he didn’t have the most room to critique others relationship capabilities but he had the feeling the reason Bill had never managed to keep a serious girlfriend was because of his complete lack of interest or pleasure when it came to romance.

 

“You think this is bad, try living with this for the past decade,” Jay muttered into his glass after he caught Bill’s expression, which earned him an annoyed look from Florence.

 

“I’m sorry if our _love_ is annoying you, Jay,” Flo said flatly. “But the honeymoon phase cannot end until there is an actual honeymoon and you can’t get a honeymoon until there’s a wedding. And _in case you’ve forgotten_ , the reason why we haven’t had a real wedding yet is because for the last few years, our wedding fund has gone directly into the shop fund. So deal with it.”

 

“So does that mean that you’re finally going to have your wedding?” Jay asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Yes it does,” Flo announced brightly as she turned to Burgie, gripping his hand tightly; Eugene watched as Burgie covered her hand and smiled.

 

“So wait, I thought you mentioned earlier that you _were_ married,” Eugene pointed out in confusion; he was pretty sure Flo introduced Burgie as ‘her husband’ earlier. “Are you not actually?”

 

“Technically we are,” Burgin answered. “We got married at a courthouse so that Florence could stay in the country.”

 

“But _also_ because we were in love and didn’t want to wait anyways,” Flo added firmly.

 

“Well yeah, of course hon,” Burgie agreed.

 

“Nice save,” Eugene heard Bill mutter into his glass.

 

“But even though we’re already married, I still want a dream wedding and I’m gonna fucking get it,” Florence declared boldly.

 

“Only a decade late,” Jay said before he drained his glass.

 

“Better late than never,” Burgie shrugged. “And at this point, a decade of marriage? We definitely deserve some sort of party. Most people barely make it a few years anymore.”

 

“Well we’re not most people, Rom.”

 

“Ten years is pretty impressive,” Eugene said in an attempt to keep things civil while Bill looked as if he were about to make gagging noises next to him. “How the hell did you two meet anyways?”

 

“Well-”

 

“This bar is not a fucking five minute walk, Burgie,” Snafu growled in greeting as he slumped down into the last remaining seat, carrying with him the strong scent of alcohol.

 

“Might have only taken you five minutes if you hadn’t made a detour to the liquor store on you way here,” Burgin fired back as scanned his friend with that same intense gaze Eugene had seen before. “Seriously what’d you do, Snaf, shower in a bottle of Jack?”

 

“Nah, jus’ rubbed some behind my ears, insides of my wrists, jus’ like Flo taught me,” Snafu answered, his slur making his already steady southern drawl more pronounced. “Freshen me up a bit.”

 

“You need to _sober up_ a bit,” Burgin sighed.

 

“Who the fuck comes to a bar to _sober up_?” Snafu asked as he stared at Burgin as if he had suddenly sprouted a third head.

 

“Someone who comes to the bar already lit when we just got started,” he said flatly.

 

“Come on, Burgie, I ain’t made of money and I ain’t no lightweight either,” Snafu huffed. “If I headed out to a bar sober with the intentions of leaving drunk the barkeeper would damn near have my rent check in his pocket at the end of the night. It’s uh- what the hell are you always sayin’? - _Fiscally responsible_.”

 

“I need another drink,” Bill said quietly under Snafu and Burgin’s argument as he slipped out of his seat.

 

“Grab me another too?” Eugene asked him.

 

“You paying?” Bill asked with a scoff.

 

“No but as I remember you still owe me a beer,” Eugene pointed out with a grin as he remembered their stupid bet from the other day.

 

“Fine,” Bill grumbled in defeat before he slipped away and headed towards the bar.

 

Eugene watched him fight through the crowds for a second before he turned back forward. Burgin and Snafu had stopped bickering and now Burgin was busy informing Jay how the shop turned out and how tomorrow they would be ready to really start. Eugene was only half listening to their conversation, too busy reveling in the warmth traveling through his veins; Eugene was something of a lightweight and after those two beers with Bill during the game and the beer at the bar he was already edging towards tipsy.

 

While he waited for Bill to return, he kept himself busy by scanning the walls of the bar, taking in all the weird knickknacks that covered the walls from top to bottom. Bill and Eugene had been coming to the bar for almost as long as they’ve lived in Boston but still, even after all this time, Eugene’s eyes found something new to focus on, like the license plate from Alaska he had never seen before or the promotional poster for a local band that would be playing down the street next week or the shiny glint of the light bouncing off of Snafu’s lip ring as he played with his absentmindedly with his tongue. Eugene took the chance as Snafu’s eyes scanned similarly around the room and took in the man’s full appearance.

 

Along with the lip ring, Eugene noticed a piercing on his right eyebrow and that both of his ears were covered in metal studs and hoops. The thin arms that poked out of his ratty t-shirt sleeves weren’t as covered in tattoos as Burgin’s were but there were still a sizable amount and the tattoos even extended onto his bony hands. Since one of his hands was occupied with the task of keeping his head propped up, Eugene could only make out the word on Snafu’s left hand. Tattooed in a way that looked like it was written in a young child’s shaky, all capital letter style, Eugene read the word “normal”.

 

Not sure what to make of the tattoo, Eugene glanced back up at Snafu, still fiddling around with his lip ring but this time his glassy eyed stare was focused completely on Eugene. If getting caught staring wasn’t bad enough, things only got worse when Snafu leaned across the table toward Eugene and grinned.

 

“Ya know, if you want a real in-depth look at everything I got, I’d be happy to show you later, all up close and personal like,” Snafu offered with a leering smile that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up.

 

“Um,” Eugene stuttered, not sure how best to respond without appearing rude; tongue momentarily tied Eugene turned to Jay for help but only found the man laughing quietly.

 

“Ease up on Sledge a little, Snafu,” Jay said after a beat, still smiling. “There’s a difference between breaking-in and breaking completely.”

 

Jay’s smile was easy and his tone was light but it did little to instill any confidence in Eugene that his new neighbors weren’t complete psychopaths. Luckily, a diversion in the shape of Bill balancing three beers in hand saved Eugene for the moment. Bill set down a beer in front of Eugene before setting another in front of Jay.

 

“You didn’t have to get me another,” Jay said sincerely, looking surprised at the beer sitting in front of him.

 

“I owed you one,” Bill shrugged as he sat down in his seat and picked up his own beer. “Don’t like being in people’s debts.”

 

“If you ain’t gonna drink that, Jay, I’d be happy to take it off your hands,” Snafu said as he reached out towards Jay’s beer.

 

“Fat chance, Snafu,” Jay said as he picked up the beer and took a drink. “Go get your own.”

 

Snafu gave an almost comical pout before he rounded on Bill.

 

“Y’know that was kinda rude of ya. Getting them a beer while I’m left parched,” Snafu said with a scowl. “Didn’t ya mama teach you anythin’?”

 

“Sorry but I don’t owe you jack shit,” Bill said, sounding decidedly not sorry at all.

 

“Just go get your own, Snafu,” Burgin sighed as he gave his friend an exasperated sort of shove towards the bar. “I’m sure you can manage that much on your own.”

 

“Oh so I’m allowed to drink now?” Snafu asked.

 

“If it gets you out of our hair for five minutes then yes,” Burgin said flatly. “Now go get yourself a drink or learn to behave.”

 

With a loud sigh and an overdramatic roll of the eyes, Snafu got up from his seat- with only minor difficulty –and made his way towards the bar.

 

“Sorry ‘bout him,” Burgin apologized quietly as Snafu stumbled away. “Usually he doesn’t come out _that_ lit up.”

 

“It’s fine,” Eugene shrugged; the number of times he had headed to the bar before Bill and watched Bill stumble in late, already clearly having had a few before heading out. The drunkenness didn’t really bother Eugene so much as Snafu’s stares and odd comments did; perhaps they were simply a side effect of the alcohol.

 

“It’s just been a couple really stressful days,” Flo added, also sounding apologetic. “Long moves are bad enough but then putting a few days of hard work on top of that?”

 

“I get it,” Eugene nodded.

 

“Ehh, still seems like kind of an asshole,” Bill said casually.

 

“And I’m sure hundreds of people have said the same thing about you,” Eugene countered tiredly before he took a long drink of his beer; maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

 

It wasn’t long before Snafu came stumbling to the table with a tumbler filled with amber liquid in hand but he didn’t stop long to chat, only asked if anyone wanted to ‘have their ass handed to them in a round of darts’. Florence quickly volunteered.

 

“But I think you should get ready to hand that scrawny little ass to me cus I am going to kick your ass, Shelton,” Flo assured him as she got up from her seat.

 

“Lot of talk comin’ from a lil’ lady,” Snafu smirked before he stepped back into the crowds to the back corner where Eugene knew the dart boards hung.

 

“Be careful you two!” Burgin called after them like a dad who was worn out by his mischievous children.

 

With Snafu now distracted on the other side of the bar, Bill was able to calm down some and Eugene was really able to relax while he, Burgie, and Jay shot the shit. Burgie offered to get another round which Eugene declined politely. He disappeared towards the bar but when he reappeared several minutes later he had Flo in tow, grinning while she carried a tray of shots back to the table.

 

“I’m good,” Eugene declined as Flo set a large shot of something in front of him; he knew his limits and was sure the shot would cause him to stumble out of the bar. It was fine to stumble a little with Bill, his teasing he could take, but Eugene wasn’t sure if he was ready to expose that side of him to these new people yet.

 

“Gene, how can you say no to the lovely lady?” Bill asked with a cheeky grin, knowing full well that the shot would do him in. Eugene glared at him.

 

“Come on,” Flo urged. “Snaf ate shit at darts so he coughed up the money for these. Don’t let them go to waste.”

 

“Where is Snafu?” Burgin asked as he looked around and found the man missing.

 

“He ran off to the toilet,” Flo answered as she distributed the shots. “Micro bladder.”

 

“So if we finish his shot before he gets back here, it’s on him,” Jay shrugged before he grabbed his glass and knocked the shot back quickly.

 

Eugene watched as Burgin, Flo, and Bill took their shot with ease before succumbing to peer pressure and taking his own, with some difficulty.

 

“There ya go,” Bill said proudly as he patted Eugene on the back as he tried to keep his coughs as quiet as possible. “Make me proud.”

 

“What was that rubbing alcohol?” Eugene asked while he wished he still had some beer left to wash the burning sensation out of his mouth.

 

“I don’t know,” Flo answered honestly. “Snaf’s a cheap-ass and he was paying so it was probably something sketch.”

 

“Good. That’s what I like to hear,” Eugene said while he tried to somehow will himself to feel sober. It wasn’t working. “Very reassuring.”

 

After the round of shots, Eugene sat back and listened to the conversation floating around him, feeling warm and a little fuzzy. Even if he was already a little more buzzed than he would like to be, it was nice, to be relaxed and surrounded by friends- or at least, people who could probably become genuine friends after a little more time together. Even though that Snafu guy rubbed Eugene the wrong way, Burgin, Jay and Flo, they all seemed like good people.

 

It wasn’t until almost all of their drinks were finished that the calm that cloaked the table was almost instantly shattered by the jarring opening notes of Shania Twain’s _Man, I Feel Like a Woman_.

 

“Who the fuck put this on?” Bill exclaimed in annoyed as he looked around the bar for the perpetrator.

 

“I put it on,” Snafu declared as he rematerialized a foot away from the table, looking particularly pleased at Bill’s annoyance. “What? You got a problem with it?”

 

“Yeah I do,” Bill snapped as he met Snafu’s smug look with a glare. “It’s shit. Go turn it off.”

 

“Would if I could, Leyden, but I can’t, so I won’t. Once that money goes into the machine the only thing stopping it from playing is by unplugging it,” he said as he slid back into his seat.

 

“Well then I know what I’m doing,” Bill announced as he rose up from his seat.

 

“Settle down, Bill,” Eugene sighed as he reached out, grabbed onto Bill’s shoulder, and forced him back down into his seat. “You can handle a few minutes of country. Don’t be so dramatic.”

 

After that Eugene, Jay, Burgin, and Flo slipped back into easy conversation while Bill and Snafu exchanged looks from across the table. Despite the fact that Eugene’s head felt like it was full of cotton, he still had the clarity to realize that Bill might be ready to pounce at any moment so he did his best to keep an eye on his friend until the last notes faded into the din of the crowded bar. Eugene was able to let his guard down for a moment before the opening drum beats of a new song rang out into the bar and Snafu’s face split into an impossibly wide grin.

 

“Oh, fuck off,” Bill snapped as Snafu began swaying slightly to the beat of Shania Twain’s _That Don’t Impress Me Much_.

 

“What you got against Shania?”

 

“Snafu,” Burgin sighed, looking tired. “You didn’t.”

 

“You know I do love me some Shania, Burgie,” Snafu said with a grin.

 

“Didn’t do what?” Eugene asked, feeling out of the loop, as he placed a firm hand on Bill’s shoulder in case he attempted to lunge across the table at Snafu like Eugene knew he wanted to do.

 

“By the time we get through the set I just lined up on the jukebox, you gonna like Shania too, Leyden,” Snafu cackled.

 

“I swear to Christ, I’m gonna-,” Bill growled as he sprang to his feet.

 

“Alright I think that’s enough for tonight,” Eugene decided loudly as he stood up with his friend and attempted to push Bill behind him.

 

“Let him go, Sledge,” Snafu said as he reclined in his seat, smile still present but his eyes had grown dark. “Let’s see what Leyden’s got. I’ll even promise to go easy on him.”

 

“Go easy? I’ll snap your punk-ass like a twig.”

 

“Ya know what, Sledge, I think you’re right,” Burgin said as he stood up and stared down at Snafu with a hard look. “Time to call it a night.”

 

“I’ll go close the tabs,” Jay said automatically before he darted through the crowd towards the bar.

 

“The night is young, Burgie,” Snafu said, content to stay in his seat.

 

“The night might be young but you remember whose gotta open the shop tomorrow?” Burgin reminded him.

 

“Come on, Snaf, quit being a dickhead,” Flo hissed under her breath as she leveled a deadly look at the man.

 

“But I wanna stick around a bit. I got some Dixie Chicks lined up after this. Leyden, you got any preference on the Dixie Chicks?”

 

“Come on, Bill, let’s get going,” Eugene ordered as he wrapped an arm around one of Bill’s biceps and began to pull him towards the door.

 

“This is bullshit,” Eugene could hear Snafu yell from behind him as he did his best to shove Bill out the door as quickly as possible.

 

“You ain’t gotta manhandle me, Gene,” Bill growled once they stepped outside into the cool night air; Eugene still had his arm firmly wrapped around one of Bill’s as if he were a child that might run out into the street at any moment. “I wasn’t _actually_ gonna fight him.”

 

“Uh, huh. Sure.”

 

“Even if I was he fucking had it coming.”

 

“Did he though? All he did was play some music,” Eugene pointed out tiredly before the door to the bar swung open again and out poured Burgin and Snafu followed by Jay and Flo.

 

As Eugene met Burgin’s eyes, it was then that he realized how difficult the walk home would be, seeing as the two opposing forces they were trying to keep separate had to be returned to basically the same location.

 

“Well this is gonna be interesting,” Flo sighed as her eyes flicked from Eugene’s arm wrapped around Bill to Burgin’s tight grip on Snafu’s thin arm.

 

“Be like herding cats,” Eugene heard Jay mumble.

 

“Bill,” Eugene said sternly as Bill made a movement towards the group behind them. When Bill stayed firmly in place, Eugene gave him a small shove with his shoulder. “ _Move.”_

 

With one last glare to Snafu, Bill grumbled something under his breath before he did as Eugene instructed him and started to walk down the sidewalk towards their residence. After a few feet Eugene felt it was safe enough to loosen his grip on his friend.

 

“Why don’t you let go of me, Burg?” Snafu complained as the six of them headed down the mostly deserted sidewalk. “Don’t you trust me?”

 

“No,” Burgin declared flatly, causing Bill to laugh. “Not right now at least.”

 

“What you laughing about up there, Leyden?” Snafu called out. “Wanna share with the rest of the class?”

 

“Bill, _don’t,”_ Eugene warned as he tightened his grip on Bill’s arm once again.

 

“Snaf, you aren’t exactly helping with the whole _trust_ thing.”

 

“I’m not gonna do anything, Gene,” Bill said before he glanced over his shoulder at Snafu and added, “You can trust me.”

 

“Oh that’s fucking rich,” Snafu exclaimed. “Ya know, Leyden, it’s a good thing that Burgie here is holding me back or you’d be in real fucking trouble.”

 

“What the fuck do you even weigh? A buck-twenty soaking wet? I’m shaking in my boots,” Bill fired back dryly.

 

“Go ahead and laugh now, Leyden. Burgie here won’t always be here to hold me back.”

 

“And that’s why me and Jay are here,” Flo pipped up from behind Snafu. “To keep your scrawny ass in check when Rom’s busy.”

 

“Honestly I’d rather deal with Burgie when he’s pissed than Flo,” Jay added frankly.

 

“Pff, you need all these people to keep your dumbass in line?” Bill snorted, irritating Eugene; all he wanted to do was grab a drink and be a good neighbor and now he had a pounding headache and a sinking feeling in his stomach that anything good about his life in Boston was about to go to shit.

 

“Bill, I swear to God if you don’t shut up I’m gonna fucking hit you,” Eugene said seriously as the rounded the street corner; only another block and a half and they’d be back home where there was a thin apartment wall to separate them.

 

“Keep talking, Leyden, I wanna see what kind of hit Sledge can dish out!”

 

“ _Snafu, shut up_!” Burgin, Flo, and Jay all declared at the same time, their voices registering varying levels of annoyance.

 

For about thirty seconds, there was blissful silence between them. Eugene hoped that it would last long enough for them to reach their apartments but unfortunately it was shattered once again at the crosswalk a few buildings away from their apartment while they waited for a series of cars to pass by them.

 

“Ya know you’re not my fuckin’ sarge anymore, Burgie, you ain’t the fucking boss of me,” Snafu grumbled as he attempted to shake out of the vice grip Burgin still had on his thin arm.

 

“Job title might have changed but the job description is still the same, Snafu,” Burgin countered.

 

“Sarge?” Bill asked with a raised eyebrow as he turned to stare at the duo. “Like sergeant?”

 

“Maybe. The fuck does it matter to you?” Snafu snapped.

 

It didn’t completely surprise Eugene; it made sense that Burgin had served, he had the look and still gave off that aura of someone in charge. He had thought about asking sometime later, maybe once they got to know each other better. Snafu however, that was a more difficult connection to make.

 

“Who’d you serve with?” Bill asked bluntly, feet firmly on the ground despite the fact that it was their turn to cross the street;

 

“Bill,” Eugene warned quietly.

 

“Bet you were fuckin’ army,” Bill continued, undeterred.

 

Heaving a heavy sigh and pushing back the urge to apologize for Bill, Eugene tightened his grip on Bill and all but dragged him across the street, determined to get them back to the apartment before anything else happened tonight.

 

“Army? Fuck that,” Snafu declared with a hint of mild disgust in his voice.

 

“Bill-”

 

“Then who?”

 

“Can’t this wait until the morning?” Eugene asked in annoyance while he refused to let Bill stop them again; all Eugene wanted was some quiet and his bed.

 

“Wait, did you two serve as well?” Flo asked, her hazel eyes wide and flickering between the five men.

 

Knowing that despite his wishes, this conversation wouldn’t be put off until the morning, Eugene stopped his movement and turned to face the group.

 

“Yeah,” Eugene nodded. “Me and Bill served together.”

 

“With who?” Jay asked, his tone polite with a hint of curiosity.

 

“Marines,” Eugene answered Jay.

 

Eugene watched as the news hit each member of the group individually. Jay smiled softly, looking pleasantly surprised; Flo looked a little shocked but Eugene noticed a smile curving at the corners of her mouth; Burgin’s face was mostly calm, the only thing that denoted he registered Eugene’s answer was a raised eyebrow; Snafu sneered at Eugene, disbelief clear on his face.

 

“You gotta be fucking with us,” Snafu said with cold laugh. “No way y’all fucking Marines. You wouldn’t make a day through boot camp-”

 

“Well we fucking did and a thousand-times more than that!” Bill snapped as he made an attempted lung at Snafu which was stopped by Eugene’s vice grip on his arm. “The fuck would you know about what it’s like?”

 

Bill’s brain might have been clouded by alcohol and anger but Eugene was still clear-minded enough to be able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

 

“Of course,” Eugene sighed as his eyes moved from Jay to Burgie to Snafu. “Marines as well?”

 

“Oo-rah,” Jay responded quietly before he was overshadowed by Snafu’s cackling laugh.

 

“Ooh, that’s rich,” Snafu laughed. “What kind of fucking Marines run a fucking flower shop?”

 

“Snafu, it’s really time for you to shut the fuck up,” Burgin huffed as Eugene used all his strength to keep Bill at bay.

 

“Come on, Bill,” Eugene snapped, the last of his patience draining away from him; if they didn’t get back to the apartment soon Eugene wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stop himself from snapping at Snafu, much less Bill.

 

“I got him,” Eugene heard Jay tell Burgin as Eugene pulled Bill down the back alley way towards the rusted metal steps that led to their apartment.

 

“You sure?”

 

“Yeah, you and Flo head on home.”

 

As Eugene and Bill made their way up the steps, he was sure that Snafu was continuing his obnoxious drunken diatribe but Eugene couldn’t hear much of anything at this point besides the sound of blood rushing through his ears which always meant that he was a moment away from blowing up. Eugene attempted a deep breath from his diaphragm, the way Dr. Grant told him to do it, and when nothing changed he attempted to move onto the next step in Dr. Grant’s go-to relaxation process: visualize something calming. Eugene tried to force his brain into thinking about a freshly picked daffodil and the scent that came off of it but between the alcohol still impeding his brain and the anger that ate away at him, the flower never came in clearly in his mind and ended up dissolving as Eugene favored a new image: Snafu with a fat lip after he turned around and socked him in the mouth.

 

 _Breathe in_ , Eugene hissed at himself when he felt his resolve wavering. _Breath out. Breathe in. Breathe out._

 

Once his feet met the hard concrete of the balcony and the two groups splintered to the opposite sides with a metal railing separating them, Eugene felt confident that they thankfully escaped something more serious from breaking out between them; Eugene was pretty sure things would get a little awkward between them if a full-on brawl broke out between Eugene, Bill, and Snafu. As nice of a guy Jay seemed to be, Eugene wouldn’t blame him for disliking them after something like that occurred.

 

As Eugene unlocked their apartment door, he glanced over to the opposite end and watched as Jay unceremoniously shoved Snafu into the other apartment. The loud crashing noise that followed told Eugene that Snafu collapsed onto the ground, whether because of his level of drunkenness or the strength of Jay’s shove he didn’t know.

 

“Sorry about him,” Jay apologized as he shut the sun door in front of himself, as if Snafu might attempt to escape and fight them. “Really. He’s not always like that.”

 

A part of him, the small sliver of the person who he used to be, who remembered how his mother brought him up to be, immediately wanted to say something along the lines of ‘don’t worry about it’ or ‘it’s alright’ but he choked down the comment; it really wasn’t alright, but Eugene appreciated Jay’s apology nonetheless.

 

“’Not always like that’,” Bill snorted. “Find that hard to take seriously.”

 

Although Eugene felt that Bill had a point, the anger he felt coursing through his body wasn’t exclusively for Snafu…

 

Following Jay’s lead, Eugene opened the front door and shoved Bill inside, not feeling much remorse when, like Snafu, Bill stumbled and fell to the floor with a swear and a loud clatter. Meeting Jay's eyes once more, Eugene sent him a quick nod.

 

“See you in the morning, Jay,” Eugene said before he stepped inside his apartment and shut the door firmly behind him.

 

“What the fuck was that for, Gene?” Bill snapped as he picked himself off of the ground.

 

“I could ask you the same damn question, Bill,” Eugene countered as he felt something snap inside of him. “What the fuck was all that for?”

 

“What?” Bill responded defensively. “He fuckin’ started it, Gene-”

 

“He did not, Bill, _you_ started it when you threw a fucking hissy fit over his goddamn music selections! And _you_ were the one who kept it going!” Eugene snapped as he took a large step towards Bill so that he loomed over his friend. “Couldn’t you see that he was trying to get a rise out of you?”

 

“Don’t you think I saw that-”

 

“Well then why did you keep falling for it over and over again?” Eugene challenged, bringing his face close to Bill’s as he felt his anger flare up inside of him, temporarily erasing any semblance of restraint. “Why the fuck couldn’t you have just sucked it up and let us have a nice fucking night out with some new people, huh?”

 

“He made fun of the shop, Gene!” Bill tired. “The shop is your baby, I couldn’t let that slide-”

 

“Yes you could have! I was going to let it slide so why couldn’t you?” Eugene yelled so fiercely he felt his throat scratch from the strain. Eugene saw something flicker behind Bill’s slightly glazed blue eyes, he wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it made Bill soften his glare and loosen his jaw. Finally Bill seemed to be standing down. Feeling tired but with the fire still raging through his veins, Eugene lowered his volume but could still feel the bite in every word. “Go the fuck to sleep, Bill.”

 

Eugene didn’t really care if Bill listened to him at this point and he didn’t feel like sticking around to find out. Instead, Eugene turned on his heal, picked up his pipe box from where he set it on the kitchen counter hours before, and headed back outside onto the balcony. He was much too wired up now to attempt sleep anytime soon.

 

Eugene felt like there was electricity buzzing through his body and his hands were shaking so much he could barely pack and ready his pipe. Between the alcohol, the anger, and the bit of knowledge that was dropped on him tonight, his mind was absolutely spinning.

 

Once he managed to get his pipe in order and take a couple of much needed hits, Eugene’s mind gained enough clarity for him to properly process what the hell actually happened tonight.

 

Their new next door neighbors were all former Marines. He didn’t know where or when they served or if they saw any combat. All Eugene knew was that whatever cosmic being ran the show upstairs sure did have a sick sense of humor because what were the odds of two groups of Marines moving in next to each other, out of all the possible places in the entire city of Boston? Out of all the possible cities in the country? The planet?

 

He just couldn’t escape this shit.

 

The only small blessing Eugene could find in the moment was the fact that with the flower shop being closed and the tattoo parlor opening tomorrow, they could all get a chance to properly cool down since they wouldn’t be up against each other all day. Maybe after a full day apart and possibly a little less alcohol they could try this again. Despite the rough start, Eugene still wanted to feel hopeful about this new situation. Perhaps their shared history as former Marines would bring them a little closer together.

 

Still feeling wide awake, Eugene tapped out the excess ash from his pipe and watched as it fluttered down into the alleyway below for a moment before he went about repacking his pipe, ready to keep his position on the balcony for the remainder of the night. With a fresh pipe in hand, Eugene turned his eyes upwards and stared at the handful of stars that managed to be seen amongst the smog and the lights of the city. If there was one thing he really missed about Mobile, it was the number of stars he could see from the comfort of his bedroom window… too bad he had no idea when he’d get to see those stars again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fyi the only real knowledge i have of country music is like early 2000's poppy-ish stuff (so shania and dixie chicks lol) but honestly I feel like snafu would be into that kinda music
> 
> Also sorry but the next chap will probably be a bit of a longer wait. I've got almost exactly a month left in undergrad rn and I'm currently spending an average of 11 hours in the library every weekend working on a final research paper so I can graduate so yeah, kinda busy. But I have started the next chapter and am able to work on it in bits every now and again so we'll see how long it'll take :)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A past in the Marines isn't the only thing that Eugene and Bill share with Snafu, Burgie, and Jay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so first off, I'm really sorry about the wait on this chapter but it really couldn't be avoided :/ for all of april i had to put all my focus on my school work so i could graduate (ya girl did graduate tho ;D now im a pos with a ba in history) and then i immediately started a summer job that has me working 40 hours a week so yeah, hard to write most days. But I am writing more now so hopefully I will be able to get the next chapter up sooner than this update was :)
> 
> also wanted to give another quick but big thank you to May for being my aussie translator 
> 
> anyways, hope this chapter is worth the wait!

*        *        *

 

Almost a week had passed since the Marine bubble burst and thankfully, for the most part, life went on smoothly. The tattoo parlor officially opened and a surprising amount of customers came through the parlor doors, which meant that Snafu was often too busy during the working hours to harass Bill outside the shop. Eugene and Bill both got along swimmingly with Jay during their off hours and often enjoy sharing a beer or two out on the balcony while they shot the shit. Every now and again they would be joined by Burgin or Flo, sometimes while Jay was busy at the shop and they just needed a quick escape from the shop.

 

The only issue was, unsurprisingly, Snafu.

 

Although Eugene had been partially right about the former Marine bond bringing them together- because it did bring Jay and Burgin closer to Bill and Eugene while they occasionally swapped horror stories of boot camp or wild tales that occurred during extended passes –the news only seemed to add fuel to Snafu’s flame.

 

Now instead of just irritating Bill via blasting country music through the thin apartment walls, he now was able to make snide comments on how much the Marine Corps have gone downhill after he, Burgin, and Jay got out. For the most part, Eugene was able to ignore the comments, mostly because he knew it would be impossible for him to tell Bill to not let the remarks bother him if Eugene couldn’t follow the same advice. Another huge reason why Eugene was able to ignore the comments a little better than Bill was because they only seemed to come around when Bill was present, which only strengthen Eugene’s argument that Snafu was mostly an asshole to Bill because it led to entertaining blowups. When Snafu joined he and Jay for a drink or a smoke out on the balcony, the worst Eugene had to deal with was the occasional dead-eyed stare or unwanted comment. When it was just Eugene and Snafu alone on the balcony, there was mostly silence between them, except for the one time Eugene asked Snafu to bum his lighter because he forgot his inside.

 

If it were just the silence and the weird stares, Eugene would have been fine with his other neighbor but because of the fact that Bill and Snafu fought like a junkyard dog and an alley cat on a daily basis and since most of the fighting was caused by Snafu, Eugene didn’t exactly have the fondest of feelings for the guy.

 

“They’re at it again,” Eugene muttered tiredly one afternoon as he stared up at the front of the apartment building as he watered the flower displays outside the store.

 

Even standing outside the building on the ground level, amidst the noises of cars and people moving along the street, Eugene could still hear an interesting mix of Darius Rucker and Pearl Jam coming out of the two apartments.

 

“Gotta give it to them,” Jay spoke up softly from where he stood in the doorway of his shop, “they’ve got an interesting way of fighting.”

 

“Interesting is one way to label it,” Eugene countered with a hint of a smile.

 

“Good thing we don’t have any other neighbors or we’d be dealing with at least a dozen noise complaints.”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe if we got police involved in their little pissing contest they’d finally stop,” Eugene wondered aloud.

 

“I mean, the music might stop but they’d still keep at it,” Jay said confidently, shaking his head slightly. “I know Snafu and based off what I’ve seen from your buddy Bill, there’s no stopping those two. They’ve got to reach an end by themselves. All we can do is try to keep the collateral damage down to a minimum until they reach that point.”

 

“Sounds like you’ve dealt with this before.”

 

“Similar things have happened in the past,” Jay shrugged. “But I’m telling ya, this is gonna blow over eventually.”

 

“That’s nice to hear but I’d rbather eventually be sooner rather than later,” Eugene said flatly, which earned a grin from the other man.

 

“Don’t we all?”

 

“Hey, what’s up?”

 

Eugene turned and found Bill behind him, presumably ready to start his time in the shop. Slightly confused, Eugene strained his ears and waited until he heard the telltale sound of rock music still coming out of their apartment building.

 

“Bill, did you leave the music on?” Eugene snapped, feeling very much so like a parent who was tired of his kid’s bullshit.

 

“I’ve got a playlist, Gene, it’ll end in thirty minutes, hour tops,” Bill answered defensively.

 

“Go back and turn it off,” Eugene ordered. “I’ve already had to listen to you two’s music all day and night and I’m sick of it.”

 

Thankfully Bill understood quickly that Eugene was not joking around and headed back to the apartment with only minor grumbling.

 

“Here’s hoping they don’t kill each other tonight,” Jay said with a faint smile once Bill disappeared around the corner. When Eugene raised an eyebrow at him in mild confusion, Jay elaborated. “Snafu’s closing the shop tonight and I can guess that, seeing as Bill’s just starting, he’s closing as well?”

 

Just imagining the kind of arguments that might break out in a number of hours, Eugene felt his temples begin to ache.

 

“Ya know, Jay, I’m really gonna need a more concrete date on when this bullshit comes to an end,” Eugene stated frankly.

 

“You’re not the only one, Sledge,” Jay said with a small sigh. “Maybe we could hit up Flo and Burgie and hide at their place while we wait for this to blow over. Doubt they’d mind too much.”

 

“They keep this up much longer I may have to do just that,” Eugene said before he rounded on Bill as he returned from the apartment again. “Now that you’re here, you need to go do inventory and take care of our orders.”

 

“What- _why?”_ Bill exclaimed in irritation. “I did inventory last week. Why do I have shit detail again?”

 

“Gee, I wonder why,” Eugene said flatly before he began rolling up the front hose. “Keep this shit up and you’ll be doing inventory for months.”

 

“This is horseshit,” Bill muttered as he entered the shop and disappeared into the back to do as he was told.

*        *        *

 Eugene wasn’t sure what was worse: when his nightmares came to him in such startling clarity that it were as if he was being forced to relieve the horrid experiences, or when his nightmares were more of a thick fog of turbulent emotions and chaotic sounds that left him feeling disoriented and low without a specific reason he could peg it to. Tonight was a case of the latter.

 

For a moment, Eugene couldn’t move, couldn’t catch his breath, couldn’t do much of anything except all to stare blindly at the dark ceiling above him while he felt the cold sweat roll down his body as he tried to control the swirling storm of sights, sounds, and emotions that was fighting for attention in his mind. Finally, after what seemed like much too long, Eugene was able to push himself up onto a shaky elbow while he ran a hand over his clammy face.

_Breathe… just fucking breathe…_

 

The air that came out of his lungs sounded more like a painful wheeze than a calming breath but after a few more times his breathing sounded a little less like he just tried to run a mile in a minute.

 

“Dammit,” Eugene hissed to himself as he stared down at his still shaking hands.

 

With his mind still buzzing uncomfortably, Eugene glanced at the sickly green glowing numbers on his alarm clock and found that only a little past two in the morning; much too early still to give up completely on sleep but between his trembling hands and extremities and his mind still reeling- whose screams were ringing through his ears? Were they his own or someone else’s? –Eugene was sure he wouldn’t be falling asleep anytime soon.

 

Heaving a heavy sigh, Eugene got out of bed, slipped on his ratty pair of slippers, grabbed his hoodie and pipe box from his desk, and shuffled out towards the back kitchen door. Eugene could only make his tired limbs move a few steps out on the balcony before he collapsed on the worn couch; it felt as if someone had filled his arms and legs with led. Despite the rough material of the couch and the occasional loose spring that stabbed you in the side or the back, Eugene was sure he could fall asleep on the couch right then and there if it weren’t for the fact that his brain was still buzzing uncomfortably.

 

Hands still trembling, Eugene struggled to get his pipe in order and cursed when the excessive shaking lead to him spilling some tobacco onto his lap; tobacco wasn’t cheap after all.

 

“You need some help with that, cher?” asked a low voice from behind Eugene, which made his heartrate ramp up once again while he jumped to his feet and turned, not sure what to expect in his less than sound state.

 

Instead of finding some nightmarish apparition or one of the many sketchy people who made a living by stealing from the weakly secured apartments and shops in the neighborhood, Eugene found the thin, dark outline of Snafu. There was next to no light on the balcony but for whatever reason, Snafu’s pale eyes seemed to glow, as if two small moons stood in front of him.

 

Emotions still feeling so raw while also experiencing a touch of embarrassment at having someone he didn’t really know all too well see him in such a state, Eugene snapped.

 

“What do you want?”

 

Through the dim lighting and the distance, Eugene was still able to see Snafu quirk an eyebrow up at him in surprise.

 

“I ain’t out here to fight, Sledge,” Snafu said as he raised a hand in mock-surrender. “I’m just a guy tryna enjoy my 2 a.m. smoke. Figured I’d try to be a good neighbor and offer my assistance since you seemed to be struggling.”

 

“’m fine,” Eugene muttered after a moment while his sluggish brain digested Snafu’s words.

 

“Sure you are, Sledge,” Snafu said before he leaned against the balcony railing and returned to smoking the half-spent cigarette Eugene didn’t notice hanging in his other hand.

 

Eugene wanted to go back inside and hide, be somewhere where there weren’t any prying eyes to see him in such a state. However, once the adrenaline that surged through him moments previously disappeared, he was left feeling more exhausted then when he first stepped onto the balcony. Resigning himself to the couch until he was able to work up enough strength to move inside, Eugene collapsed back down into his seat before he attempted to get his pipe in order once again.

 

This time he managed to properly pack the tobacco into his pipe but when it came time to light it, his trusty zippo lighter refused to light.

 

_Must be out of fluid…_ Eugene thought as he heaved a heavy sigh; clearly tonight was not his night.

 

He knew he had at least a partial bottle of lighter fluid somewhere in the apartment but at this point in the night, Eugene was ready to throw in the towel. Still feeling as if his arms and legs were made of led, Eugene forced himself back onto his feet but before he managed to take a single step, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Glancing over his shoulder, Eugene found tattooed fingers holding a cheap plastic lighter; in the dim lighting of the balcony Eugene was able to make out the letters on Snafu’s hand: “situation”.

 

“Thanks,” Eugene muttered as he accepted the lighter and quickly lit his pipe before he handed the lighter back to Snafu.

 

Once his pipe was lit, Eugene dropped back down onto the couch while he reveled in the sensation of the much needed nicotine entering his frazzled body.

 

Although the added nicotine helped the situation some, Eugene still wished that Snafu would hurry up and finish his cigarette so that he could be alone. However, based on the crinkling sounds of a cigarette pack being opened and the flick of a lighter, it was clear Snafu planned to stick around for a bit longer. Eugene momentarily felt irritation break through the fog that still filled his brain before he reminded himself that the balcony was a shared one and Snafu had every right to be out here for as long as he wanted just as much as Eugene did.

 

_Can’t yell at Bill for not behaving if you can’t do it yourself,_ Eugene reminded himself as he exhaled a large cloud of smoke.

 

Once all the tobacco in his pipe was smoked, Eugene figured he should head back inside; he wasn’t exactly feeling his best again but since he was better than before, his lighter still refused to work, and Snafu seemed resolute to stay out on the balcony, he thought maybe it would be best to at least try to go back to sleep.

 

“You’re a country boy too, ain’t’cha Sledge?” Snafu asked, surprising Eugene.

 

“Yeah. Mobile, Alabama,” Eugene answered as he met Snafu’s intense gaze from across the balcony. “You?”

 

Snafu didn’t answer; instead he took his time lighting another cigarette and enjoying a nice long puff. By the time Eugene was sure Snafu was just fucking with him and he was ready to retreat into his apartment, Snafu spoke again.

 

“Being from Mobile, I’m sure you grew up around plenty of country music right?”

 

“You could say that,” Eugene responded, not quite sure where the conversation was headed.

 

“So push come to shove, you’re team country right?” Snafu asked while a smirk twisted the corner of his mouth. “I know Leyden’s you’re boy and all but inside, you prefer Brooks to AC/DC, right?”

 

Eugene couldn’t help but snort when it all clicked in his brain. This guy had to be joking but it was reassuring to know that even the likes of Snafu was able to make a harmless joke without making Eugene feel weird or uncomfortable.

 

“I’m on whichever team decides to stop this idiotic game you two have got going on so that I can get a minute of peace around here,” Eugene decided frankly.

 

Again, Eugene waited for a response but all he received was a long, unblinking stare from Snafu. Not knowing what else to do, Eugene gathered up his items before he took the handful of steps it took to get him back inside.

 

“Goodnight,” Eugene said as he paused in the doorway.

       

Before he slipped inside, Eugene glanced over his shoulder and was slightly surprised to find Snafu’s gaze turned away from him. Feeling a little awkward but also like maybe this was a sign of progress, Eugene fully entered his apartment building and hoped to catch at least a couple hours of sleep before he had to work in the morning. 

*        *        *

After almost an entire week of music wars, the next day in the shop was unusually quiet. Early in the morning, around the time Bill usually woke up, Eugene heard faint riffs of Bill’s rock music bleed down from upstairs but not once during the entire morning did Eugene hear a single twang of country music. Bill still played his preferred brand of music softly on the small portable radio they had while he worked on the displays outside but the music never went above an acceptable volume. It was odd, even made Eugene feel a little suspicious that perhaps Snafu stopped the music because he had something else planned, but he didn’t bother verbally questioning it; bringing attention to the change might disrupt the brief peace.

 

By the early afternoon, Eugene almost missed the musical distraction; the shop had been so dead all day that Eugene managed to get all of his necessary work done and was now partaking in Bill’s favorite work activity: not working. Eugene could have run upstairs to grab one of the numerous books he had yet to read but instead he settled on the two-day old newspaper he found on his desk in the back office.

 

He was halfway through some overzealously written article on a recent Red Sox game when the sound of the bell jingling on the front door snapped Eugene to attention. Expecting either Bill or a possible customer, Eugene was surprised to find Flo stepping into the shop with a paper bag in hand.

 

“Hey,” Eugene greeted her, setting down his newspaper on the counter.

 

“Hey,” she responded with a pleasant smile as she stepped fully into the shop. “So this might be kinda weird but I was wondering if I could maybe eat my lunch in here? It’s just that the parlor’s packed right now, so it’s noisy even in the back office, and it’s giving me a bit of a headache. I’d go up to the balcony to eat but it’s kinda chilly today.”

 

“Oh,” Eugene said, taken aback by the request.

 

“It’s weird isn’t it?” Flo decided as her smile slipped from her face.

 

“No, not at all,” Eugene said quickly. “Actually I’d enjoy a little company right about now.”

 

“Really?” she said as her smile perked up again.

 

“Yeah, just hold on a second,” Eugene said before he quickly darted towards the back office, grabbed the slightly less beaten down office chair, and rolled it towards Flo. “Can’t leave a lady standing.”

 

“What a gentleman,” Flo said gratefully as she took her seat.

 

“You think it’s chilly out right now, just you wait,” Eugene said as he sat back down on the hard wooden stool. “Once winter comes you’ll be missing this. It’s actually pretty nice for May right now.”

 

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Flo sighed as she began unpacking her lunch. “Once we knew we were gonna set up here I knew I’d have to deal with cold but until it actually happens I’ll be in denial.”

 

“Still, I’d recommend stocking up on warm clothes as soon as you can. The cold can really sneak up on you out of nowhere up here.”

 

“I’ve heard. Ya know, before I moved to the States I had a pretty good handle of the weather; Melbourne’s weather is always fucked. But almost an entire decade spent in the middle of Texas totally fucked me over.”

 

“Yeah moving up here from Mobile and getting acclimated was a bit of an ordeal. But I’m sure you’ll get used to it. Just need to develop a thick skin because locals will love to make fun of you for bundling up when it’s a blizzard out and they’re walking around in a hoodie.”

 

“I’ll just fight them if they do,” Flo decided as she picked at the crust of her sandwich, causing Eugene to laugh, not completely sure if she was being serious.

 

“So, the parlor’s doing pretty well then?” Eugene asked after a brief pause.

 

“Yeah we’ve had pretty steady business. Bit of a relief. Imagine if we moved all the way up here and set up a shop and it went tits up in a day. The boys are definitely pleased.”

 

“Are you pleased?”

 

“Course I am,” Flo grinned. “Not only are we not totally in the red right out of the gate, but now that the shops in order that means we can start shifting funds to the wedding.”

 

“Ah, yes, the infamous wedding,” Eugene teased, which earned him a soft kick in the shin; Eugene might have only had a dozen conversations with Flo so far but in every one he was sure she mentioned the wedding in some way.

 

“Dick,” she smirked. “I get enough of that from Jay and Snaf already. I don’t need you too.”

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized.

 

There was a momentary lull while Flo dug into her lunch and Eugene returned to his newspaper. He was almost finished with the Red Socks article when Flo spoke up.

 

“So I’ve been meaning to ask you, if you don’t mind, why flowers?”

 

Why flowers? As Eugene sat there staring blankly at the newspaper, he thought of the myriad of reasons why his decision had landed on flowers but he knew that now was not the time to get into all of the specifics of it.

 

_Maybe another time._

 

He settled on the abridged version he had rehearsed for whenever a curious old lady or a flirtatious young woman asked a similar question after they spent too much time at the shop.

 

“I’ve always been interested in nature and plants,” Eugene started with a shrug. “When I got out of the Corps I tried to go to school for botany but that didn’t exactly work out. When I thought of ideas for a business, doing something with plants just made sense.”

 

Eugene paused for a moment while he scanned the shop and took in all the varying colors and shapes. He then closed his eyes, took in a breath, and reveled in the fresh, soft smell of the room.

 

“Flowers calm me down,” Eugene admitted quietly as he opened his eyes.

 

Eugene didn’t look at Flo. Instead he glanced back down at his newspaper and tried to will away the warmth he felt forming around his shirt collar.

 

“Yeah, I get that,” Flo spoke up after a beat.

 

Eugene looked up and found Flo copying Eugene from a moment ago with her eyes closed and taking a deep breath. When Flo opened her eyes again, she smiled warmly at him from across the counter.

 

“It _is_ pretty relaxing in here. Deffo more relaxing than the parlor anyways,” she said before she returned to her lunch. “Maybe I should hang out here more often. Help me de-stress a bit.”

 

“Well, you’re free to hang out I here anytime,” Eugene informed her. “I’m sure Bill wouldn’t mind either.”

 

“Thanks, Gene.”

 

_“Aaagghh!”_ came a sudden piercing shriek from outside.

 

Abandoning the shop, Eugene and Flo both sprung up from their seats and rushed outside to investigate.

 

Once outside Eugene found Bill standing in front of the outdoor displays, dripping water hose in hand, looking a little smug as he stared down the sidewalk. Eugene followed his eyes and saw Snafu standing about ten feet away, shirtless and absolutely soaked to the bone while what had to have once been a lit cigarette dangled out of the corner of his mouth.

 

It didn’t take long to connect the dots. Eugene and Flo immediately burst into laughter.

 

“ _Leyden!”_ Snafu spat as he stomped towards Bill, looking very much like a rat that managed to crawl out of a storm drain.

 

“Not my fault you can’t read the signs,” Bill said evenly while he pointed to a newly erect sign outside the shop which read “no smoking”.

 

“What the hell is going on out here?” Burgin asked as he stepped out of the parlor and stared at the group on the sidewalk.

 

“Quick, Rom, take a picture!” Flo commanded between hiccupping laughs. “We need to capture this forever!”

 

“Burgie if you take a damned picture-”

 

“You’ll what?” Burgin asked, unconcerned as he pulled out his cell phone. “Drip water on me?”

 

“Come on, Bill,” Eugene said with a dying laugh as he wrapped an arm around Bill’s shoulders and lead him back into the shop. “No such thing as a boring day around the office with you around is there?”

 

“Face it, Gene, you’d have no excitement without me in your life.”

*        *        * 

Whatever forces who were in control of the weather clearly heard Flo’s wishes for warmer weather and ran with it, because over the next few days the temperature continued to climb to an almost unbearable level.

 

It didn’t help matters any that their apartment, a box made of mortar and brick, was made more in mind to keep the icy winds of winter out instead of allowing a breeze to move through it during the summer heat. They had a window AC unit Eugene had bought used from a thrift store but since he hadn’t anticipated the heatwave, he hadn’t budgeted the cost of running the AC unit into this month’s electricity bill and he didn’t want to risk not making rent on time just to get a day or two of manageable apartment temperatures.

 

The shop was a nice place to hide from the heat when it was open but when it was closed, Bill and Eugene found a small reprieve on the shaded balcony. Jay and Snafu, who struggled from similar problems, also found shelter on the balcony, which meant that there hardly was a peaceful moment on the balcony anymore.

 

“This ain’t shit,” Snafu declared boldly Monday afternoon from where he laid stretched out on the hard concrete ground of the balcony, smoking like a chimney stack as per usual. “Plain heat is bearable. It’s the humidity that’ll fucking getcha.”

 

“If this heat ain’t shit to you Shelton, then why the fuck are you out here?” Bill snapped from where he sat on the worn couch, his shirt off and his back to Snafu.

 

“This balcony ain’t exclusive, Leyden,” Snafu reminded him as he started to bounce one of his bare feet to the beat of the music that poured out of Eugene’s secondhand radio. “I have as much right to be out here as you do.”

 

“Whatever,” Bill grumbled while he wiped off the sweat the formed on his brow.

 

If there was any positive to come out of this heat wave, in Eugene’s opinion, it was that it made Bill too tired to fight Snafu day and night like he had been.

 

“This is bullshit,” Bill complained as he adjusted himself on his seat to prevent his bare skin from sticking to the fabric of the couch.

 

“Couldn’t agree with you more,” Eugene signed before he took a long drink from his sweating beer bottle.

 

“Aren’t you from Alabama, Sledge?” Jay asked from where he sat perched on the railing that separated the two sides of the balcony.

 

“Yeah,” Eugene answered. “Why?”

 

“Figured you’d be used to this kind of weather is all,” Jay said with a shrug.

 

“Just cus I’m used to the weather doesn’t mean I like it,” Eugene admitted as he started to peel away at the label on his beer bottle. “Half of the reason why I moved up here was to escape the heat.”

 

Eugene felt eyes on him and was unsurprised to find Bill staring at him, concern breaking through the discomfort that covered his face. Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to him, Eugene gave his friend a quick smile to let him know he was fine before he went back to picking at the label.

 

“I hate the heat and the heat hates me,” Bill declared loudly, bringing the attention of the balcony to him as he got up from his seat and walked towards the cooler that propped open the backdoor of the apartment; Bill thought it was a good idea to fill the cooler with beers and use it as a doorstop to not only get some airflow into the apartment but to also conserve energy in the heat. Bill opened the cooler lid, pulled out a cold beer bottle, and pressed it to his neck. “All I can hope is that this means it’ll start getting cooler earlier this year since it’s hot as Satan’s asscrack in May.”

 

“You should try pressing ice to the tips of your ears, Bill,” Flo suggested from where she sat on the plastic lawn chair on the other side of the balcony, appearing completely unruffled by the heat.

 

“What?” Bill asked, skeptically.

 

“Ice to your ears,” Flo repeated. “It’ll help with the heat. I swear by it.”

 

“I’d listen to her if I were you,” Jay pipped up as he glanced at Bill. “Australia doesn’t fuck around with the heat.”

 

Eugene couldn’t help but smile as he watched Bill slowly move the beer bottle to his ears, looking unsure and a little confused at the logic but still willing to give it a try.

 

“I didn’t even live in one of the worst parts and every year you’d hear about heaps of people dying around the city from heatstroke,” Flo added.

 

Eugene relaxed where he sat, his back resting against the bars that ran around the perimeter of the balcony, while he listened to Jay, Flo, and Snafu talk and complain about the weather in their respective hometowns, whether they missed it or not. Eugene was relieved when no one asked him to explain why he supposedly hated his hometown weather; it wasn’t something he wanted to honestly talk about right now and already Eugene felt bad about lying or misleading these people.

 

The truth was that he didn’t necessarily hate the heat- because after last year’s brutal Boston winter Eugene realized that heat really wasn’t that bad after all –but his real issue with the heat came from the associations in Eugene’s mind. The heat used to be a comforting thing to him. It used to remind Eugene of summers as a child spent on the wrap around porch of his childhood home, sipping overly sweet lemonade and going for swims in the nearby lake with Sidney when they’re parents weren’t paying attention. Now however, overly hot days reminded Eugene of things much more sinister; it made him think of days spent crammed in an crowded Humvee, sweat rolling down his body underneath his MOPP suit, made him think of all the hours spent hiding under hastily set up tents in the middle of some far-off desert while he tried to catch an hour of sleep, made him think of the blistering heat that slowly cooked him that day years ago when a simple patrol order had turned into easily the worst day of Eugene’s life.

 

Once Eugene returned home, the Mobile summer heat which once acted as an old friend to Eugene quickly turned on him and sent his nightmares through the roof- that is if he managed to fall asleep at all in the weather. Still now, years after the fact, Eugene struggled to get a decent night’s sleep- at least a decent night’s sleep in his own right –in this weather. Frankly, Eugene wasn’t sure if it would be worth it to even try to sleep tonight. Maybe he’d just go down to the shop once Bill fell asleep tonight and try to get some work done with the AC turned low…

 

“Guess my invite to this party got lost in the mail?” Burgie asked as he walked up the back stairs and took in the five of them spread out about the balcony as they drank and smoked.

 

“Maybe if you hadn’t been working so hard you would have seen it, Burg,” Snafu said, looking like he was about to fall asleep on the balcony any moment now.

 

“Sorry, next time I’ll just leave the shop open with a sign asking burglars not to make too much of a mess,” Burgie said sarcastically as he accepted a beer and a quick kiss from his wife. “Someone’s gotta be the adult around here.”

 

“And we’re so glad that it’s clearly been you for the past decade, Burgie,” Jay said before he raised his half-drunk beer in a small salute. “We’d be lost without you.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, Jay. How about you just do me a solid and get me a smoke.”

*        *        *

It took approximated 30 seconds after Eugene laid down in bed several hours later to realize that he wouldn’t be getting any sleep that night. Even with the window thrown open wide, there was little air flow into Eugene’s small bedroom and his sheet stuck uncomfortably to his body. On top of all the normal inconveniences that came with trying to sleep in heat, there was also the uncomfortable prickling feeling on the back of his neck and the sinking sensation in his stomach, neither of which he could will away.

 

Once he heard Bill head into his bedroom for the night, Eugene got out of bed, grabbed a t-shirt off of the floor, and pulled it on before he grabbed his pipe box and headed straight for the balcony with the hope that he would find a cool night breeze out there.

 

The balcony was not empty.

 

In the dim lighting, Eugene was able to spot a thin figure perched precariously on the perimeter railing; it only took him a second to realize who it was.

 

“Evening,” Eugene said with a polite nod.

 

Even with a lack of light, Eugene was still able to make out the slightly off-putting smirk as it lit up on Snafu’s face. Eugene wondered if there’d ever be a day when the look didn’t make him feel uncomfortable.

 

“Evenin’,” Snafu responded, smirk still present on his face while his pale eyes locked onto Eugene.

 

“Little early for your 2 a.m. smoke don’t you think?” Eugene asked as he leaned against the waist-high railing that separated the two sides of the balcony; he avoided the couch, knowing how uncomfortable the itchy fabric would feel on his bare skin.

 

“Not out here on my 2 a.m., Sledge,” Snafu responded before he held up a partially drunk bottle of liquor; Eugene couldn’t tell exactly what it was from the distance and the darkness.

 

“Don’t you think it’s a little dangerous to be sitting up there while drinking?”

 

While Snafu still was not Eugene’s favorite person in the world, he couldn’t help but feel nervous at the idea of Snafu sitting in such a precarious position while under the influence. Sure, the drop to the street might not exactly kill Snafu but it definitely wouldn’t be fun and honestly, Eugene had seen enough blood already in his lifetime.

 

“Ya worried about me?” Snafu said in a teasing tone of voice, his smirk growing into a full out grin.

 

“Just being a concerned citizen,” Eugene responded casually.

 

_“Sure_ ,” Snafu muttered before he raised the bottle to his mouth and took a long, exaggerated drink.

 

Recognizing that Snafu was trying to get a rise out of him, Eugene turned his back on Snafu and focused on lighting his pipe. For a minute it was quiet on the balcony, the only noises coming from the street down below, before Eugene heard a metallic squeaking noise and feet hitting the concrete. Eugene glanced over his shoulder and watched as Snafu opened the screen door of his apartment and disappeared inside. Eugene could barely enjoy the idea of a moment of peace on his precious balcony before the screen door clattered open again and Snafu stepped back out onto the balcony, this time his bottle replaced with a pack of cigarettes.

 

Eugene watched as Snafu crossed the balcony until he was leaning against the perimeter railing. He was relieved when Snafu didn’t attempt to climb back on top of it; he really didn’t feel like calling 911 tonight.

 

Eugene heard the numerous clicks of a failing lighter before Snafu swore under his breath.

 

“Bum a light?” Snafu asked, annoyed.

 

“Um, yeah, sure,” Eugene said as he turned to face the other man. “You might wanna come over here and have me light it, though. It’s kinda of finicky.”

 

“Whatever you say, cher,” Snafu said as he pushed off the railing and sauntered over to him, unlit cigarette dangling out of the corner of his mouth.

 

It was a little unnerving, watching Snafu’s dark figure move closer and closer to him but thankfully the metal railing forced Snafu to stop his approach before he was fully on top of Eugene. Even with the railing in place as a barrier, however, Snafu still felt too close for Eugene. His gaze, strong from a distance, was now almost too intense for Eugene to bare; it made him feel as if he was some prey being watched by a hungry hunter moments before the attack. Eugene couldn’t help but wonder if the fierce stare was done so willingly or if Snafu didn’t realize he was doing it, perhaps a byproduct of his time in the service.

 

Ready to get his personal space back to himself, Eugene gave the old lighter a practice flick before he brought the flame upwards to Snafu’s unlit cigarette. Snafu’s eyes finally flickered away from Eugene’s face and down to the flame so that he could properly light his cigarette when something strange happened.

 

Snafu’s eyes turned their focus onto the lighter and Eugene watched as a startled expression passed over Snafu’s face. Snafu barely managed to light his cigarette before he stumbled backwards, eyes still fixated on the lighter in Eugene’s outstretched hand.

 

“You okay?” Eugene asked, confused.

 

Snafu didn’t respond. Instead he continued to stare until Eugene returned the lighter to his pocket, which seemed to break whatever strange trance that took control of him. Snafu blinked heavily before he stared back at Eugene, his cigarette seemingly forgotten as it appeared closed to falling out of Snafu’s partially opened mouth.

 

“Shelton?” Eugene tried again carefully, not wanting to set Snafu off into some tailspin accidentally.

 

Snafu blinked again before turned away from Eugene and took a controlled pull from his cigarette. The odd look was still present in his eyes but now it was muted. Without a word, Snafu did a complete about-face and headed back into his apartment, the screen door clattering loudly into the night, leaving Eugene completely alone and utterly confused.

 

Eugene half expected Snafu to come back out onto the balcony, perhaps with his bottle back in hand, but when a full minute passed and the man failed to return, Eugene slumped down on the couch, feeling too bewildered now to notice how itchy the fabric felt on his sweaty skin.

*        *        *

Eugene didn’t get any sleep that night or the night after that for that matter. Despite the fact that he was almost to the point of exhaustion where nightmares could barely reach him anymore, the continually climbing heat made any time spent inside the apartment almost unbearable. Bill seemingly only managed to catch any sleep after he had down a couple of drinks but that route didn’t produce much better results than Eugene’s tactic.

 

Thankfully, the heat seemed to keep the customers at bay and inside air conditioned buildings, which meant that Eugene was able to catch an hour or two of sleep during an extended lunch break in the cool back office of the shop.

 

“Hey, boss,” Bill’s rough voice rang in Eugene’s ears, bringing him back to the conscious world. “Rise and shine. Time to get up.”

 

Eugene winced as he straightened his back against the old foam of the office chair and listened to the multiple cracks and pops that arose from the movement; he really was too old to be sleeping at a desk. He needed to just buy a sleeping bag and keep it in the office to sleep on that; lord knew he had slept on worse surfaces in his life.

 

“’m lunch break over?” Eugene yawned as he stretched and heard another series of pops and cracks from his body.

 

“Lunch break? Try your shift,” Bill elaborated. “Time for you to get the fuck outta here.”

 

“Wait, what?” Eugene asked before he checked the time and found that it was now half-passed four in the afternoon. “Bill! Why didn’t you wake me up?”

 

“It’s not like it was busy,” Bill said with a shrug. “Besides, you looked like total shit, Gene. Figured you could use more than thirty minutes of sleep.”

 

“You sure you don’t need any help with anything?” Eugene said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, feeling a little embarrassed over the fact that he had slept for the past four hours instead of working.

 

“I’m sure,” Bill said before he gave the office chair a half-hearted kick. “Now get the hell out of here, Gene.”

 

“Whatever you say, Bill,” Eugene said before he got up from his seat.

 

After spending an entire day inside the air-conditioned safety of the shop, the heat and the humidity hit Eugene like a ton of bricks. Just walking around the corner and up the back stairs was too much time spent in direct sunlight for him.

 

“Hello,” Eugene said politely when he noticed Snafu leaning against the perimeter railing, shirtless with a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other.

 

Snafu didn’t say anything in response, just nodded while he kept his pale eyes focused on Eugene.

 

Eugene had thought, based off of the few conversations that they had had recently, that the two of them were making some sort of progress towards a tentative friendship but after whatever the hell happened two nights ago with Snafu and the lighter, they seemed to have shifted back to square one.

 

Eugene stepped inside his apartment and was immediately greeted by a cloud of stale, hot air and a pile of dirty dishes in the small kitchen sink. Eugene wasn’t sure who was to blame for the dishes this time- it could have been him this time, he hadn’t exactly been on the ball the past few days –but all he knew was that they surely weren’t getting done tonight. Ignoring the practical voice in his head, Eugene blindly grabbed one of the many takeout menus that sat stacked next to the fridge and perused the list of pizzas available; he doubted Bill would be upset with him if he ordered out tonight.

 

Once the order was placed, Eugene sent a quick text to Bill about the food- it was easier to deliver food to the shop if someone was down there than to have some poor delivery kid struggle to find the correct set of stairs to the apartment –before he hopped into the bathroom for a much needed cold shower.

 

After the shower Eugene forwent wearing a shirt and only bothered to put on a pair of boxers and an old pair of shorts rescued from his bedroom floor before he headed out towards the balcony with his pipe box in hand.

 

_Ignore him_ , Eugene told himself a moment later, feeling eyes on him as he stepped out onto the balcony. _He’ll stop eventually._

 

Despite his words to himself, after almost fifteen minutes, Eugene still felt Snafu’s eyes on him. Irritated, Eugene turned and met Snafu’s dead-eyed stare but found Snafu’s eyes focused on a target just south of Eugene’s face. Eugene followed Snafu’s eyes and landed on the small patch of black lettering that colored Eugene’s upper right shoulder.

 

It had been Bill’s idea. One afternoon, a month or so after Eugene showed up like a stray on his doorstep in Brooklyn, Bill decided that they both should get tattoos to properly commemorate their time in the Corps together. Eugene remember he had been felt more than hesitant at the idea; not only had he never really thought about getting a tattoo before- although he spent several years being told by half the men in his unit that he’d either end up getting a tattoo before he got out or right after –but at the time he was living off of his fathers borrowed dime and didn’t feel like blowing money on a tattoo was smart. Bill had won out eventually though.

 

It was a small tattoo, just five simple characters, easily hidden from the prying eyes of certain family members under any old t-shirt sleeve.

 

K/3/5

 

It was the company Eugene and Bill both served in during most of their time in the Corps. K Company was Eugene’s family, with him through good times and the worst times, it made sense to Eugene.

 

“Admiring another artist’s work?” Eugene asked, half joking.

 

“… Didn’t know you had tattoos,” Snafu responded in a low voice.

 

“Not _tattoos_. Just the one,” Eugene corrected him.

 

Snafu nodded, eyes squinting ever so slightly, perhaps to get a better look at the small tattoo from a distance. Since the conversation seemed to have finished, Eugene looked away and focused on cleaning and repacking his pipe with more fresh tobacco. He had just managed to light the pipe and take a deep pull when Snafu spoke up again.

 

“Mind if I bum a light again? Mines shit.”

 

“Sure,” he agreed as he pulled his lighter from his pocket again. “Probably best if I light it again.”

 

He followed the suggestion without a fight. Eugene watched as Snafu pushed off of the railing and walked towards him, only looking away once Snafu was almost on top of him. With a practiced flick, Eugene lit the old lighter and extended it towards Snafu.

 

Snafu reached out towards him- Eugene assumed he was doing it so that he could steady the flame before he brought his cigarette to it- but when Eugene felt Snafu’s boney fingers latch almost painfully around his wrist, Eugene lost control of the situation.

 

Snafu’s other hand shot out of nowhere and Eugene readied himself for the hit that was sure to come. No hit came his way, however. Instead Snafu’s hand ripped the lighter out of Eugene’s slackened grip before he brought the lighter close to his face to inspect it.

 

What the fuck was going on? Had Snafu finally completely lost it? Was he having some sort of episode? Should he go get Jay or Burgie, someone who might know what was happening?

 

“Why do you have this?” Snafu growled as he gave the lighter a small shake for emphasis.

 

_“What_?”

 

“Why do you have this?” he spat, his face now much too close to Eugene for his comfort. “Where the fuck did you get this from?”

 

“The fuck does it matter to you?” Eugene snapped before he broke out of Snafu’s vice grip.

 

The momentum of the movement sent Eugene tumbling backwards into a slightly cracked clay flowerpot, which he accidentally tripped over as he attempted to catch his balance. The pot tipped over and shattered on the concrete of the balcony, sending bits of clay and soil all over, but Eugene managed to regain his footing.

 

“Where did you get this?” Snafu repeated, undeterred by the loud shattering of the pot.

 

“Why does it matter to you?” Eugene snapped, the small bit of concern he had initially felt for Snafu almost immediately vanished; whatever the hell was wrong with Snafu needed to be done now.

 

“Just answer the question!”

 

“I got it from my old gunny before he retired!” he yelled in return while he tried his best to avoid the sharp slivers of clay that surrounded his feet. “The fuck does it matter to you?”

 

“What the hell is going on out here?” Jay exclaimed as he threw the screen door open and stepped out onto the balcony, soaked to the bone and dressed in nothing but a pair of boxers, clearly just having jumped out of the shower.

 

“Snafu’s fucking snapped!” Eugene declared before he turned and watched as Bill and Burgie rushed up the rusted metal steps.

 

“The fucks going on up here?” Bill snapped before he all but threw the hot pizza boxes onto the ground

 

“Snafu,” Burgin barked. “What trouble are you starting now?”

 

Before Eugene got a chance to attempt to explain the situation, Snafu spoke up again, this time his voice much lower in volume but no less intense than before.

 

“Where did you say you got this from?”

 

“My old gunny,” Eugene repeated in irritation. “He gave it to me at the end of last tour. You got a problem with that?”

 

“What’s the issue with the lighter, Snaf?” Burgin asked in a calm but exasperated tone.

 

“Why’d you take that from him?” Jay asked when Snafu remained silent with his eyes locked on Eugene.

 

“Take a look at it yourself,” Snafu muttered before he tossed the lighter to Jay, who caught it easily with one hand.

 

Eugene’s confusion only increased when he watched Jay’s eyes fly open wide in what had to be shock as he inspected the lighter.

 

“What the fuck?” Jay exclaimed before he gave the lighter a quick light, surprising Eugene even more; it too practice to get that lighter to work properly… not just anyone off the street could pick it up and make it work.

 

_What the fuck is going on?_ Eugene thought weakly as he looked from person to person and wishing desperately for an answer that had yet to come.

 

“Who did you serve with,” Snafu asked next, his voice a quiet growl.

 

“What?” Eugene stuttered, confused.

 

“Your unit. Who _the fuck_ did you serve with?” Snafu repeated, voice much louder the second time around.

 

“What the fuck does that matter?” Bill snapped as he stomped towards Snafu, clearly ready to settle this argument with his fists. “Why don’t you just go ahead and give Gene his damn lighter back?”

 

“Bill-,” Eugene hissed as he threw an arm out in an attempt to keep Bill at bay.

 

“Burgie,” Jay spoke up, his voice calm but a little more urgent than normal. “You might wanna check this out.”

 

“Check what out?” Bill growled as Burgie stepped towards Jay and accepted the lighter from his friend.

 

“Oh no fucking way, man,” Burgie muttered as he inspected the lighter.

 

What the hell was Eugene missing here? What did they all seem to know that Eugene didn’t know?

 

“What do you mean by ‘no fucking way’?” Eugene asked; before anyone could elaborate, Snafu interrupted again.

 

“Why don’t you just tell us who you served with?”

 

“Why don’t you tell me what the fuck is going on?” Eugene countered, eyes locked on Snafu’s now.

 

“There’s no way,” Eugene heard Burgie say to Jay in an even tone before he turned to face Snafu. “Come on, Snafu, give the kid a break and give him back his lighter.”

 

“But how would have he gotten it any other way?” Jay asked Burgie calmly. “Not like he just found it on the street.”

 

“Well maybe he did,” Burgie retorted as he crossed his arms over his chest. “We don’t know how many of those are out there. Who’s to say he had the only one in the world?”

 

“Do you hear yourself right now?” Jay asked flatly before he snatched the lighter from Burgie’s hand and brought it close to his face. “What about that dent there? You and I both know the story of how that got there, Burg. Face the facts.”

 

“What the fuck are you guys talking about?” Eugene tried again as his mind swirled uncomfortably with a million thoughts.

 

“Look at his arm, Burgie,” Snafu said, keeping his eyes locked on Eugene, while he pointed at the tattoo that decorated Eugene’s shoulder.

 

“Holy shit,” Burgie and Jay said in unison.

 

“’Holy shit’ what?” Bill snapped, while Burgie and Jay exchanged wide-eyed expressions.

 

“Answer the damn question,” Snafu barked at Eugene; Eugene noticed some of the heat in his voice from earlier had dissipated some.

 

“There’s only gotta be one answer, Snaf, and you know what it is,” Burgie said, tiredly. “Let him-”

 

“I want to hear it from him,” Snafu declared, finally turning away from Eugene to glare at the duo behind him.

 

A moment later Snafu turned back to stare at Eugene, and expectant look in his eyes. Eugene did the only thing that his sluggish mind seemed to be able to do.

 

“Served with the 1st Marine Division,” Eugene answered quietly; oddly, as Eugene met the intense look in Snafu’s eyes, if felt as if he and Snafu were the only ones on the balcony. Everything and everyone else around them seemed to just blur away for Eugene. “5th Marines, 3rd Battalion. King company.”

 

As soon as the words left Eugene’s mouth, Snafu’s face twisted into a cold smirk before he backed up from the fence, shaking his head in disbelief.

 

“Why does that matter?” Eugene asked as calmly as he could, turning to Jay and Burgin for answers.

 

“Who the fuck did you all serve with, if it matters so much,” Bill snapped as glared at the trio.

 

“This lighter,” Jay spoke up as he held the lighter up, as if it were suddenly unclear what lighter specifically they were talking about. “You wouldn’t have gotten it from a man named Elmo Haney, would you?”

 

“So what if I did?” Eugene asked while he felt his heart begin to race.

 

_These guys know Haney._

 

“You wouldn’t also happen to know two guys, Haldane and Jones, they go by the nicknames-”

 

“Ack-ack and Hillbilly,” Eugene finished softly. Jay nodded.

 

Feeling like he had just been struck by lightning, Eugene turned to look at Bill and found him looking as stunned as Eugene felt. Suddenly, Eugene felt the puzzle pieces come together but something in his frazzled mind refused to accept the conclusion, not until he heard it from them as well.

 

_Holy shit._

 

“You guys served with K/3/5 over there with Andy, Eddie, and Haney,” Jay said quietly.

 

Eugene nodded his head numbly.

 

“Well, so did we. Sometime before you guys got in, we all were a part of King Company too.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~cue dramatic music~
> 
> so now that most of the major skeletons are out of the closet, i feel like this fic can start picking up the pace a bit so i'm excited :)
> 
> hope you enjoyed reading <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eugene talks with two important figures in his life and bonds between some of the members of the two shops grow stronger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I originally was going to have this chapter out like a week ago but then about two weeks ago my faithful laptop finally fucking kicked it (but the tech guys only told me it was officially dead after they held it in the shop for like a week... waste my time 2k17) and so while I was able to save my hard drive, I did lose two scenes that I was working on for this chapter, that I had to then rewrite from memory before I could move onto the rest of the chapter... and since I'm still waiting for a replacement laptop, for the past week I've only been able to write for like two or three hours after work on the campus computers. so yeah... been kinda rough going recently but shit should be back up to my regular speed soon (only if dell actually manages to deliver my laptop when they say they will...)
> 
> So yeah, enough of that. Just wanted to thank May for editing and being my aussie translator and for all of you who are still reading and dealing with my shit updates <3 really appreciate you all

*        *        *         

_There was a flurry of activity around him- NCO’s and officers barking orders, grunts packing up trucks and Humvees and cleaning weapons which had been neglected of proper attention during recent firefights, and somewhere in the distance Eugene could hear what had to be a pick-up game of football –but Eugene remained untroubled by it all. Instead he remained seated on his piece of rubble, where he had been resting for the past hour or so now, only ever moving to bring a stale cigarette to his lips._

_He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so tired His body ached and felt as if it were made of lead but, for whatever reason, his mind felt as if it were filled with an orchestra of buzzing white noise. The noise had started shortly after they arrived in the rear area, where they weren’t in any real place of danger. Here Eugene could finally let his guard down, let his mind wander if he wanted… but that was dangerous territory nowadays. It was for the best if he just focused on the obnoxious buzzing noise instead of the many other thoughts and memories which vied for attention in the back of his mind._

_Eugene knew the thoughts would be even less likely to resurface if he stayed busy but the physical exhaustion he felt weighed him down and kept him in place._

_He was exhausted. He hadn’t slept in thirty-six- thirty-_ seven _hours now and he hadn’t had a restful sleep in weeks; ever since they departed from their camp weeks ago any sleep Eugene got was more similar to being knocked out cold for an hour or two than an actual rest._

_He needed sleep. Hillbilly told him as much earlier; once they arrived in the rear area Hillbilly pulled him aside and told him to go find some quiet corner away from the madness and sleep while he could._

 

 _“_ We got a couple hours still to mill about. Take advantage of it. Promise we won’t leave without you _,” Hillbilly had said with a subtle but sincere smile before he slipped away into one of the many tents that had popped up across the flat landscape._

_Eugene wanted to follow the order, didn’t want to disobey an order from Hillbilly, but the buzzing in his brain kept him awake, that and the fact that he was scared about what might come out of the dark recesses of his mind if he allowed himself an hour or two to fully stand down._

 

_He had been awake for thirty-seven hours, one more hour spent awake wouldn’t kill him. Besides, he would have plenty of time to sleep soon enough._

_Eugene was going home. If everything went as planned- which was a pretty big ‘if’ in the Corps to be quite honest- by the end of the day he would be loaded onto some air conditioned plane and sent back stateside. It was hard to believe it; he probably wouldn’t believe it until he landed back on American soil. He was going home, for good this time. This was his last tour and hopefully he would never have a reason to step foot in such a land ever again. There would be a few more months back at base while the paperwork moved through the system at a snail’s pace but eventually Eugene would be done._

_Eugene remembered how at the start of the tour, he had been felt somber knowing that soon he would be removed from his brothers, the family he had found in his company. However, after everything that had happened on this last tour, between Bill’s injury that got him sent home early and Oswalt…_

 

Don’t think about that _, Eugene told himself angrily as he snapped his eyes downward and focused on his dirt-covered hand. They were trembling._

 

_“God damn it,” Eugene hissed before he brought the cigarette to his mouth- mostly done in an attempt to cover the shaking –and found that his cigarette had burnt down to the filter while he had been stuck in his own head._

_Giving the smoldering filter a half-hearted flick, Eugene began patting down his pockets before he landed on the one with the bent pack of cigarettes. Truth be told, he much preferred smoking fresh tobacco out of a pipe, even if it did get him a fair share of interesting comments and nicknames, but in the middle of a warzone a Marine had to make due._

 

_With an unlit cigarette in his mouth, Eugene began searching for his lighter but after almost a full minute of searching, he conceded defeat; must have lost it somewhere along the way._

 

_“Hey, Gunny,” Eugene spoke up, his voice rough from lack of use; honestly he couldn’t remember the last time he said more than a handful of words. Eugene figured it was easier to not say anything all day when all of your best friends were gone. “Can I bum a light?”_

_When Eugene didn’t receive any response, he turned to his right and found Haney, smoldering cigarette bud hanging out of the corner of his own mouth while that thousand-mile stare haunted his tired, bloodshot eyes. He wasn’t surprised to find Haney in such a state- if they were on the move or dug in for the night, his eyes were bright and filled with laser focus, often to the point of scaring some of the newer guys. However, during times like today where they could let their guards down completely, especially after such a long period of activity, Haney usually slipped into this sort of catatonic state –but Eugene_ did _get a little bit of a jolt thinking about how moments ago, he and Haney had been in similar states…_

 

_“Gunny Haney,” Eugene tried again in a louder voice; he refrained from trying to get the man’s attention by shaking him. He had seen just how well that tactic worked and he really wasn’t in the mood to have to fight off Haney’s pure muscle._

_Haney blinked before he turned to face Eugene, looking almost surprised to find him there sitting next to him._

 

_“Can I borrow your lighter?” Eugene asked again. “I lost mine somewhere.”_

 

_“Sure,” Haney grunted before he pulled the tattered lighter out of his breast pocket and handed it to Eugene._

_It took him two tries to light the cigarette with the slightly damaged lighter- Haney had carried that lighter with him through every tour since the 1980’s but supposedly, according to Haney, it dated back to World War II –but when he finally succeeded, he  passed it and one of his stale cigarettes to the older man, who accepted them both without a word._

_As Eugene looked around the crowded area, he took in the numerous untroubled faces, the occasional smile or a genuine laugh, and he couldn’t help but wonder: how? How could all these men go through the same meat grinder with him and come out so different? How did so many of them, for the most part, look just like they did when they were first deployed months ago?_

 

People back home wouldn’t recognize me now _, he thought tiredly as he stared down at his lap and took in the dirty cammies that covered his legs. It was such a stark difference when compared to the slacks and crisp shirts he grew up wearing._

_Would he still feel this way, like he had outwardly been changed, once he got back home? Or would a nice scrub down and a shave, a couple solid meals, and forcing on one of his old white button downs be enough to turn him into something his family would recognize? That maybe he would recognize? Or was there something fundamentally different about his appearance now that no scrubbing and dressing up could change? Would his mother or father be able to see it? Edward? Sidney? Would they be able to tell everything he had seen and done with just one look?_

 

_“Same shit,” Haney grunted, snapping Eugene out of his head for a moment._

 

_“What was that, Gunny?”_

 

_“It’s the same shit,” Haney repeated quietly. “Each time you go out you expect it to be different but in the end it’s all the same shit… men who are supposed to lead but they have their heads so far up their own asses they can’t see they’re getting kids killed… someone with half a brain and a conscious tries to lead and they get stopped by the assholes in charge… shit never changes.”_

_Eugene didn’t know how to respond, didn’t know if he even_ should _respond. Was Haney talking to him or was he so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t realize he had said them out loud? It had happened before and frankly, it seemed like the more likely option when the alternative was Haney opening up to someone, even if it was just a crack._

_Haney slowly turned to face Eugene, surprising in him. There was a look of exhaustion in the older man’s eyes the likes of which Eugene had never seen before. Suddenly Eugene was all too aware of how old and greying the man beside him was._

 

_“Bit of advice, kid: get out.”_

 

_“I am, Gunny,” Eugene said with a nod, feeling a little baffled but determined to keep this brief but obviously important conversation going. “I’m going home.”_

 

_“Good,” Haney said flatly with a small nod, his steely blue eyes still locked on Eugene. “Stay home. Don’t try to come back. Don’t… don’t be like me, kid.”_

_Before Eugene could properly react to Haney’s order, Haney passed his old lighter back to Eugene. Unsure of what was happening, Eugene accepted it and watched as Haney pushed himself slowly back onto his feet._

 

_“Keep it,” Haney muttered, his back turned to Eugene._

 

_“Wait, Gunny I- I can’t take your lighter,” Eugene spoke up quickly as Haney began to shuffle away from him. “It’s… isn’t it an heirloom?”_

_Haney stopped and looked at Eugene over his shoulder, bloodshot blue eyes meeting exhausted brown eyes._

 

_“Just take care of it, okay?” Haney ordered after a pause. “Take care of yourself too, Sledge.”_

_Knowing that now was not the time or place to argue with Haney, not like there was ever a time for that, Eugene pocketed the lighter._

 

“… ‘m sure you’re both busy but uh, we’d appreciate a call,” Bill’s voice rang dully through Eugene’s head, sounding muffled as if he was talking through a thick sheet of glass. “Gene?”

       

Eugene blinked his eyes but kept his head down turned and eyes focused on the old lighter in his hand.

 

“Gene? You alright?”

       

Eugene blinked his eyes again before he forced his heavy head upwards and found Bill’s face only a few inches away from his own as he crouched in front of him. Eugene blinked again and realized with a small jolt that he was now sitting on the old couch in his living room; he didn’t remember leaving the balcony.

 

“Yeah,” Eugene lied as he closed his fist tightly around the item which sent what little peace Eugene had here crashing down around him. “What… what um, did he say?”

       

It was coming back to Eugene now: they- Burgie, Jay, and Bill -decided to call Ack Ack and Hillbilly to find out if they knew anything about this or if they would be just as surprised to find out two generations of K Company moved in next to each other. Eugene was pretty sure that while the three of them were deciding to make phone calls he stumbled back into the safety of his apartment; it was all a little fuzzy to be honest.

 

_Out of all the places in Boston… out of all the cities they could have ended up…_

 

“I tried Hillbilly but I just got his voicemail,” Bill answered as he straightened up and sat down next to Eugene. “I don’t know if either one of them were able to get Ack Ack.”

 

“I’m sure one of them will respond soon,” Eugene added while he worked to make his voice sound normal. “They usually aren’t that difficult to get a hold of when you need them. Especially Ack Ack.”

 

“Until then I guess we wait,” Bill declared before he let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the back of the couch. “Man, when did life get so goddamn weird?”

 

“If you ask me, I think it’s been pretty weird for a while now,” Eugene joked with a hint of a smile.

 

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

 

“It’s us,” Burgie’s voice sounded from outside the screen door. “Mind if we come in?”

 

“No, come in,” Eugene answered.

 

“We both tried Ack Ack and Hillbilly but we couldn’t get a hold of either one,” Burgie  explained as he and Jay entered the apartment. “I’m sure they’ll call back soon though. Probably a bit of a red flag if a bunch of former K company guys call them both up at the same time.”

 

“Maybe one of us should text them,” Eugene suggested quietly. “Just a quick ‘Don’t panic. We’re fine’ before they start worrying why they’ve got a bunch of voicemails.”

 

“He’s got a point,” Jay agreed as he pulled out his phone, probably to do just that.

       

Eugene was sure that after serving as beloved and trusted officers in the same company for years, Andy and Eddie got their fair share of phone calls and messages when shit hit the fan somewhere among the K company vets. Eugene didn’t want them to worry any more than they had to.

 

“Oh fuck,” Burgie sighed as he looked at his own phone.

 

“What is it?” Jay asked.

 

“Flo’s texting me. Wants to know what the hell the holdup is,” he answered before he grinned at the other three. “She’s gonna be so pissed she missed this. Better go clue her in and help her out downstairs.”

 

“Oh right, fuck, the shop,” Bill exclaimed as he quickly got up from the couch.

 

“Don’t tell me you left the shop open-” Eugene started before he was quickly cut off by Bill.

 

“Don’t get panicky alright? I’m not an idiot, Gene, I locked it up and put up the ‘back in fifteen’ sign up okay? Christ.”

 

Eugene watched as Burgie and Bill exited the apartment before he turned back to look at Jay, who looked almost as befuddled as Eugene felt.

 

“Bill’s right,” Eugene sighed heavily as he ran a hand through his hair. “Life is fucking weird.”

 

“Got that right,” Jay responded. “So you guys really did serve with them?” Eugene nodded. “You got in, what, in oh-four?”

 

“Yeah,” Eugene answered. “Didn’t get to K Company until almost the end of the year though, after boot camp.”

 

“We left near summer,” Jay answered. “Just missed each other.”

 

“Yeah,” Eugene nodded before a thought struck him. “Hey, Jay, did you… did you get any help finding this place?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well when me and Bill were looking for places to start, I talked to Ack Ack and this was one of the places he suggested,” Eugene explained. “We were already in the northeast so Ack Ack suggested we just move a bit to Boston and then he helped us find a couple options for rentals. Just wondering if he did the same for you guys.”

 

“I know we asked around to a couple different people we knew; we asked Ack Ack and Hillbilly too,” Jay answered slowly. “All we had to go on was that we wanted to get out of Texas. We also looked at Maryland and northern Cali but ended up here. Andy knew the area the best so he suggested a couple different places in different neighborhoods. We just picked this place because it was cheap as hell. Why?”

 

“Just thinking… Do you think Ack Ack did it on purpose?” Eugene asked. “He knew me and Bill were already here.”

 

“I don’t think so, Sledge,” Jay decided after a moment. “He gave us a decent list of places in and around Boston to rent. Maybe in the back of his mind he might of thought that it’d be interesting if we ended up next to each other but… it’s just coincidence.”

 

“Life is weird,” Eugene repeated with a tired smile.

 

“Yeah,” Jay sighed. “Well, I’m gonna get back to my shower, now that I know that Snafu isn’t gonna get the cops called on us.”

 

“Oh right,” he realized; Jay was still in his boxers and his faded turquoise hair was already half dry. “You go do that. We can talk about all this later.”

 

“Oh I’m sure we will,” Jay said before he turned and exited the apartment.

       

As Eugene heard the faint noise of Jay entering his own apartment next door, he turned to look at the slightly damaged pizza box Bill had brought in and set on the kitchen counter. He wasn’t even remotely hungry anymore. Desperate for anything to take his mind off of the present, if only for a minute or two, Eugene grabbed the television remote off of the floor and turned on some shitty game show.

*        *        *

Eugene slept badly last night and so he found himself nodding off at work the next morning. He knew if he wanted to stay awake he should get up and get moving- there were things that needed to be done around the shop –but between the heat and his lack of sleep, Eugene couldn’t find the motivation. Instead, he spent the first hour of his shift half slumped over the counter, the picture of a shit employee who didn’t care about his job.

 

 _You need to get up,_ Eugene told himself as he felt his eyelids droop for the hundredth time that morning. _The front displays need to be switched out watered and orders need to be placed… but I have to wait for Bill to show up before I can do that-_

 

_Bzzz… bzzz…._

       

The vibration of his cell phone going off in his pocket was enough to make Eugene jump. Expecting Sid or his mother, Eugene was surprised to read the name that popped up on his caller I.D.

       

It was Andy.

       

Feeling a mix of excitement and apprehension, Eugene answered the phone.

 

“Hello?”

 

 _“Hey there, Eugene,”_ Andy greeted him kindly. _“Is this a bad time?”_

 

“No, sir, I’m not busy,” Eugene said as he quickly straightened up so he sat ramrod straight on the stool; definitely some piece of his brain was still wired to the Corps.

 

 _“Eugene, it’s just Andy now,_ ” Andy reminded him gently with a hint of a laugh in his voice.

 

“Right, sorry,” Eugene said while he bit down on the need to cap his apology with another ‘sir’; it had been years since Andy left the Corps but Eugene still struggled to transition him in his mind from Captain Haldane to just Andy. “So, how have you been?”

 

 _“Oh, I’m doing alright. Getting by,”_ Andy answered easily. “ _You know you surprised me, Eugene.”_

 

“How so?”

 

_“Well after everything that happened last night and all the phone calls I got, I was surprised that you didn’t try to call me either.”_

 

“Well I just figured that if I called too it’d be a little overkill,” Eugene explained as he felt his neck warm up uncomfortably. “Beating a dead horse.”

 

 _“Wouldn’t have been overkill. I’m always happy to hear from you boys,”_ Andy countered brightly before his voice softened slightly _. “So how are you, Eugene?”_

 

“In general or about last night?”

 

 _“Either. Both_ ,” Andy decided. _“From what Burgie told me it seems like Snafu might have shaken you up a bit.”_

 

“I mean, it’s not exactly the most pleasant experience to have someone yank a lighter out of your hand and then scream at you for ten minutes with no explanation,” Eugene muttered.

 

 _“Yeah well, that’s Snafu for you_ ,” Andy chuckled.

 

“Less funny from where I’m standing, Andy,” Eugene grumbled, still feeling irritation over how Snafu dealt with the situation last night.

 

_“I know, sorry, but just… give Snafu a chance. I know it’s hard, hell I’ve seen plenty of guys who couldn’t deal with Snafu’s particular brand of crazy but I promise when push comes to shove, he’s a decent guy.”_

 

“If you say so,” Eugene said, unconvinced.         

 

 _“Who knows, maybe he’ll just rub you the wrong way no matter what_ ,” Andy said lightly; Eugene could easily picture him shrugging easily along with the comment. “ _But just give him a little extra time to warm up to you before you write him off.”_

 

“Alright,” Eugene sighed, feeling for a moment like a kid who was being told to be nice to the weird kid at school because it was the nice thing to do; it was something he was sure his mother had told him before when he was young…

 

“ _Anyways, sorry but I have to run. I’m on lunch and I’ll be expected back in class soon. Just figured I should check in with you too after I talked to everyone else.”_

 

“Well it was nice hearing from you.”

 

_“Likewise, Eugene. Oh, and just so you know, Eddie and I should be able to make a trip up to Boston soon.”_

 

“Really?” Eugene asked, surprised.

 

_“Yeah, it’s been awhile since we’ve been back up and now that there’s a bunch of you boys up there, we don’t really have an excuse not to. Once school’s out for the summer of course.”_

 

“That’d be great, yeah.”

 

_“I’ll have to check out your shop while I’m up. See how being a small business owner is treating you.”_

 

“It’s treating me alright,” Eugene said. “Teaching still treating you right?”

 

 _“Yeah I’d say so,_ ” Andy responded; Eugene wasn’t surprised. Andy was always made to be a teacher.

 

“Well I’ll let you get back to them now. Tell Eddie I said hi.”

 

_“Will do, Eugene. I’ll let you know when we’re coming up once we have a specific day.”_

 

“I’ll keep my schedule open,” Eugene joked; he didn’t exactly have a thriving social life to free up.

       

After they said their farewells, Eugene found himself staring blankly across his shop while he felt the realness of the situation sink in.

       

Last night after the smoke had cleared and everyone got off of work, Burgie, Jay, Bill, and himself sat out on the balcony and talked. Occasionally they mentioned a key experience during their respective services but mostly they talked about old friends they had in common, if they knew if someone was still in, if they got out, if they were doing okay. Even then as they talked, laughed even, about shared friends it didn’t exactly hit him.

       

Now that he talked to Andy, however, heard Andy mention Burgie, Jay, and Snafu, proved that he knew these guys, it really seemed to sink in for Eugene. A few days ago, they had been just a couple fellow former brothers in arms but now… it was different. It added a new level of closeness that Eugene could have never expected to find in these people who were still something of strangers to Eugene.

       

Out of the corner of his eye, Eugene caught movement; he turned his head in time to watch Snafu walk across the storefront window, presumably to get to work.

       

It surprised Eugene, seeing the obvious change in Snafu’s attitude since yesterday night. After the marine bubble burst, Snafu had been louder than ever but now he barely said word or even dared give Eugene a weird look through the store widow. As far as Eugene knew, the only comment Snafu made on the matter of them all being K Company vets was a grumbled comment to Burgie: _“told ya the company’d go to shit as soon as we got out_ ”.

       

Honestly Eugene couldn’t say he was too broken up by Snafu’s change; it was refreshing to have the guy shut up and act almost normal for a solid day.

 

 _I’m sure he’ll be back to his old self soon_ , Eugene told himself as he stretched his arms high above his body and winced when he heard multiple pops and cracks.

 

_“Give Snafu a chance.”_

       

Although Eugene always suspected that somewhere way deep down there was a decent part of Snafu- because Jay, Burgie, and Flo were decent people and they surely wouldn’t have hitched themselves to Snafu if he wasn’t decent somewhere –he had given up on actively searching for it.

 

 _Maybe things will be different now_ … Eugene wondered.

       

While the knowledge that they were all former Marines didn’t seem to bring out anything good in Snafu, perhaps the knowledge that they served in the same company under the same officers would help progress things positively.

       

Andy asked him to give the guy a chance and Eugene would be willing to do that but only if Snafu met him halfway.

 

“Hello? You are open, yes?”

 

Eugene blinked and was started to find an elderly woman standing in the doorway of the shop.

 

“Yes, of course, ma’am,” Eugene said as he sprung up from the stool. “Do you need help finding anything in particular…?”

*        *        *

It was still approximately a thousand degrees inside of his apartment when Eugene got off of work but instead of retiring to the balcony until the temperature reached a bearable temperature, Eugene stayed inside. He needed privacy which he could no longer seem to acquire on the balcony, regardless of the time of day.

 

Eugene took a moment to orient the rickety box fan they had set up in the living room in a weak hope to create air flow so that if faced the couch before Eugene collapsed on top of it. Eugene pulled out his phone and scrolled through his call history for a moment- he felt a twinge of guilt when he realized how far back he had to scroll to reach the desired number –before he landed on the correct number. He hit call.

 

He answered after the second ring.

 

 _“My, this is quite the surprise_ ,” a kind, older voice greeted him.

 

“I’m sorry I haven’t called in so long,” Eugene apologized genuinely; he really did mean it this time. “Just lost track of time again I guess. Shop’s keeping me busy.”

 

 _“You don’t need to apologize to me, Eugene,”_ his father reminded Eugene. Eugene couldn’t help but close his eyes in response to the ache he felt in his chest after hearing those words. The memories associated with those kind words weren’t exactly the best. _“Just because it’s a surprise doesn’t mean it isn’t a pleasant one. How have you been? And the shop? You’ve been busy? That’s good, right?”_

 

“Yeah, the shops been doing pretty well lately so me and Bill are working longer hours.”

 

 _“Good, that’s great to hear, Eugene,”_ Edward Sledge Sr. said proudly. _“So all your finances are all in check?”_

 

“Yes, dad, we’ve still got our heads above water,” Eugene said while he felt himself flush slightly. “I promise.”

 

_“Well, alright. You know if you ever need help for a month or two I’d be happy to wire you some money.”_

 

“I know, dad, and I appreciate it. I really do. I’m just really trying to do this on my own,” Eugene insisted.

 

Every time Eugene spoke with his father he offered Eugene money and for whatever crazy reason, every time Eugene politely declined. Sure, it would be nice to have a little extra money and be able to afford to put in the AC now and be able to actually live inside the apartment during the day but that wasn’t the point of this place. He was a grown man with a business, he wasn’t going to go running to his parent’s checkbook if he could avoid it, no matter how uncomfortably hot he was at the moment.

 

_“It’s a noble adventure, Eugene. I just hope you remember that if you do need it, we’re here for you. I love you, Eugene, but you must admit that sometimes you are a little stubborn. I don’t want you to struggle unnecessarily because of it.”_

 

“I promise, dad, we’re fine,” Eugene said with a small huff. “There’s food in the kitchen, there are lights on in the apartment. We’re getting by.”

 

_“Good.”_

 

_Speaking of stubborn…_

 

“How’s mom doing?” Eugene asked quietly.

 

He knew it would open up the floodgates but he needed a change of subject and honestly, he did want to know how his mother was.

 

 _I need to call her… fuck_ … Eugene thought as he remembered his last phone call with Sidney.

 

_“Oh she’s doing quite alright these days. She’s always part of something around town, her and her friends…”_

 

While his father went on and on about his mother’s comings and going around towns, Eugene felt himself begin to slip into a bit of a doze. Between the exhaustion he felt regularly nowadays and the calming effect his father’s voice had on him, Eugene couldn’t help it. He fought the urge however. While his father wouldn’t be mad that he fell asleep in the middle of a phone call- in fact Eugene was sure that he would be happy to know that his son was sleeping -Eugene still had enough of the manners his mother forced into him from childhood to know better.  

 

 _“She’s worried about you_ ,” his father said gently, bringing Eugene out of his haze.

 

“I know,” Eugene said lamely.

 

_“She wants to know when you’re coming home.”_

 

“For a visit or for good?” Eugene asked flatly.

 

 _“I think she would be pleased with a visit for now,”_ his father decided after a moment.

 

“‘For now’,” Eugene repeated. “Then what? What happens after? Will she let me come back here?”

 

 _“You’re a grown man, Eugene, your mother can’t force you to stay,”_ his father said with a tone of exasperation.

 

“Yeah well, how about you tell her that and see what happens,” Eugene muttered; they both knew that Mary Sledge wouldn’t listen or accept the fact if anyone told her it.

 

 _“She’s just concerned about you, Eugene. She doesn’t get it, what you’re doing up there. Why you’re doing it,”_ his father continued kindly.

 

 _“You_ get it,” Eugene stated petulantly. “Why can’t you just explain it to her? Why can’t you tell her I’m doing something with my life here, unlike back home? Tell her I’m _happy_ here.”

 

 _“I have, son, but perhaps_ you’re _the one who need to talk to her,”_ he countered firmly.

 

“ _I’ve tried_! She won’t listen!” Eugene snapped, feeling something unleash in his chest. “I’ll tell her I’m happy here, that I’m doing better here, and she’ll start going on and on about how I was so good at school and in science when I was younger and ‘why can’t I just go back to school’?”

 

 _“You were always such a bright student,_ ” his father said softly.

 

“Yeah well I’m just not anymore,” Eugene argued, feeling angry and defeated. “She needs to realize I’ve changed a bit since I was 15.”

 

 _“Well perhaps it’s harder for her to realize the differences when she’s getting all of her updates on you second hand,”_ Mr. Sledge countered.

 

Eugene’s mouth opened, ready to fire back, when he snapped it shut and clenched his jaw so tightly he felt his molars grind unpleasantly together. He didn’t want to yell at his father and say something he would regret later, especially when Eugene knew in the back of his mind that his father had a point.

 

 _“She’s just worried about you,_ ” his father repeated after a long silence stretched on between them.

 

“Maybe if she didn’t worry at me so much when I _do_ talk to her I’d call her more often,” Eugene snapped, feeling somehow more exhausted than he had ten minutes ago.

 

 _“Eugene, you need to realize that asking a mother to worry less about her child is a hopeless endeavor,”_ he said with a small chuckle. _“Now, enough of that. How are things going for_ you, _Eugene? How’s Bill_?”

 

“Bill’s fine. Little more fired up than usual though.”

 

_“Oh? Why is that?”_

 

“We got new neighbors,” Eugene answered as he stared up at the water stains on the ceiling.

 

_“New neighbors in the apartment next door or the shop next door?”_

 

“Both actually. Two the guys who run the shop next door live in the apartment above it.”

 

_“And Bill isn’t too fond of them?”_

 

“Just one of them really,” Eugene answered. “The rest of them are really nice. I like them.”

 

_“What kind of shop do these people run?”_

 

“It’s a tattoo parlor. Guess they do piercings too. But like I said, they’re pretty nice. Surprisingly enough, all the guys are former Marines.”

 

_“My what a coincidence. I’m sure you have plenty in common with them.”_

 

“We get along with them for the most part.”

 

 _“Well it’s always nice to hear that you’re making new friends,”_ his father said happily, making Eugene feel very much like a shy child who just told his father he finally made a friend on the playground.

 

_“Want to hear an even bigger coincidence? Not only were these guys also in the Marines but we found out recently that they also served in the same company me and Bill served in. They just were in a few years before us so we just missed them.”_

 

“ _That_ is _quite the coincidence_ ,” his father said slowly.

 

“Yeah, so now our old CO and one of our favorite officers are coming up soon to visit us all.”

 

_“Hmm…”_

 

“What is it?” Eugene asked, noticing his father skepticism.

 

_“It’s just that…with all these former Marines around, especially ones who served in your company, there are so many reminders of your time overseas. I can’t help but worry, Eugene.”_

 

“I’m fine, dad,” Eugene said honestly before he felt a small smile form on his face. “If there's anything good I got out of my time in the Corps it’s the guys I met. And Andy and Eddie… they’re the best guys out there. You’d really like them.”

 

_“Well I’d love to meet them someday if given the chance…”_

*        *        *

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

 

“Gene! Open up! You in there?”

 

Feeling disorientated, Eugene shot up into a sitting position and tried to piece together the situation in his fogged mind. He was still lying on his living room couch, the television was playing the local news on low volume he didn’t care about, and the sunshine that came in through the windows was much softer than he remembered it being. He must have fallen asleep somehow after his phone call with his father, despite the stifling heat of his living room. But why did he wake up…?

 

“Gene!”

 

 _Flo_ , Eugene’s sluggish mind register finally.

 

“The doors open!” Eugene called out as he shifted so that he was sitting properly on the couch.

 

Just as Eugene let out a large, involuntary yawn, Flo bounced into the room, looking her usual bold and bright self.

 

“Oh, fuck,” Flo said in greeting, smile slipping off of her face. “You were sleeping, weren’t you?”

 

“It’s fine,” Eugene said with a wave of his hand. “Really. I needed to get up. I shouldn’t be sleeping on this hunk of junk anyways.”

 

“You sure?” Flo asked, looking uncertain.

 

“Yeah, what’s up?” Eugene asked while he tried to make himself appear more awake than he felt.

 

“Oh well, I was talking to the boys and we thought it’d be fun to go out for drinks tonight,,” Flo explained. “You in?”

 

“I dunno, Flo,” Eugene started out. “I think it might be better if I just stay in tonight.”

 

He still felt enough of that heavy sleepiness in his body that Eugene suspected that if he acted fast, he might be able to get a couple more hours of sleep if he tried. There would be other nights to go out with them all, Eugene was sure.

 

“Come on,” Flo pouted. “It’ll be fun. Just one beer, Gene. My shout- since I was a dick and woke you up.”

 

“Your _what?_ ” Eugene asked; maybe he was more asleep than he thought he was.

 

“Shout,” Flo repeated with a smile. “I’m buying. So come out. Bill said you don’t have to open tomorrow so you still can get plenty of your beauty sleep tonight. Come on.”

 

It took all of five seconds for Eugene’s resolve to break; such was the power of Florence Risley he supposed.

 

“Fine,” Eugene said in defeat. “I need some time to wake up though.”

 

“That’s fine, the boys still have to close up anyways,” Flo said, excited. “Me and Rom’ll just meet you all there.”

 

“Alright, see you later then.”

 

“Bye Gene,” Flo said over her shoulder as he walked back to the kitchen door. “You won’t regret this. Promise!”

*        *        *

An hour and a half later and Eugene was leading the pack on the way to the bar down the street, Jay and Bill following just behind him while Snafu trailed a few feet behind them, a silent but still obvious presence.

 

By the time they all made it to the bar, Burgie and Flo were already present, had a table ready for them, and a beer ready for Eugene.

 

“A promise is a promise,” Flo said as Eugene sat down at the table and she slid the fresh beer towards him. “You like Miller, right?”

 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Eugene said, feeling a little surprised that she remembered his preferred brand of beer.

 

“Why does Eugene get special treatment?” Jay asked.

 

“Cus I was a dick to him earlier and I’m making it up to him,” Flo explained quickly.

 

“You’re a dick to me all the time and you never buy me a drink,” Jay countered as he made his way up to the bar, clearly not that broken up by the who deal.

 

“Oh, Rom, we should grab a round of shots,” Flo thought suddenly, turning to her husband.

 

“Sounds good, honey,” Burgie said after a moment's consideration.

 

“Why do we need to do shots?” Eugene asked weakly; he had a feeling deep inside of him that Flo was going to accidentally kill him one day with these outings.

 

“To celebrate,” she responded frankly. “Our shop isn’t dying, yours seems to be doing well, and we’ve gotta celebrate family.”

 

“Family?”

 

“Yeah, of course, Gene,” Flo said with a small laugh. “You and Bill are K company too. That means you’re part of the family. No take backs.”

 

Eugene nodded but stayed silent. He wouldn’t fight her logic, because honestly she was correct in some ways, but Eugene wasn’t so sure if he got the choice to pick family members he would pick someone like Snafu.

 

_You can’t always pick your family._

 

After the shot and the beer and the beginning of a second beer- where Eugene had to almost force Flo to take his money because she still seemed so set on making up for earlier -Eugene was feeling rather relaxed; he was glad that Flo had convinced him to come out tonight. Surprisingly, it wasn’t busy in the bar yet and so no one had to shout to be heard over the people or the music and everyone seemed to be getting along at the table just fine.

 

Feeling a little buzzed and half paying attention to everyone’s conversations, Eugene realized that Snafu was absent. It was a little surprising that it took this long to notice but Eugene figured that it had something to do with the fact that for the past week or so, Snafu had been unusually quiet.

 

Eugene’s eyes scanned the bar for a while before he finally landed on Snafu’s tell-tale tattoos and erratic curls. He was currently standing at the bar, body tilted so that he hovered over a young red-haired woman who appeared at least semi-interested. Eugene watched Snafu flirt for a moment or two before he heard Jay snort. Turning to look at the man, he found Jay watching the scene at the bar as well.

 

“How much you wanna bet he gets slapped?” Jay asked as he leaned in his seat slightly so that he was closer to Burgie.

 

“Oh, you should know, Jay, it’s not a matter of _if,_ because it’s _gonna_ happen,” Burgie argued. “How much you wanna bet he gets a phone number with six digits?”

 

Bill and Eugene laughed while Burgie and Jay passed the time making bets on Snafu’s apparent lack of flirting capabilities. Taking a sip from his beer, Eugene sat back in his seat and listened while the two friends began reminiscing about an apparently memorable incident involving Snafu, a young lady, and a disastrous pick up line.  

 

Time drifted by and after the two hashed out the highlights of Snafu’s romantic history, Eugene decided to jump in with some of Bill’s greatest hits.

 

“This is bullshit,” Bill grumbled after Eugene recounted the tale of the ex who stole Bill’s new television from his apartment back in Brooklyn. “Gene, I’m still gonna blame that one on you because you were fucking sleeping on the couch when she stole it.”

 

“She was stealthy,” Eugene said with a shrug while the others laughed. “Besides, _you’re_ the one who let her back in the apartment after you guys had that epic fight and you said you’d call the cops if she came back there again. Still gonna say this is your fault.”

 

“Whatever,” he grumbled before he took a drink from his bottle. “You can fire all this ammo and I ain’t got shit to talk about you. You’re fucking spotless, Gene.”

 

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Flo said. “Doesn’t seem the type to have ex’s like those. He’s too nice. ‘M sure he only attracts nice southern belles.”

 

“Oh, sure, he’ll attract all the nice girls in the area, doesn’t mean he’ll want one though,” Bill muttered, which earned him a look from Eugene and a quick kick in the shins from under the table. “What? You’re allowed to air my dirty laundry but I can’t say something about you?”

 

Eugene knew his friend had a point and it only made him annoyed at himself for getting wrapped up in Burgie and Jay’s game and putting the wheel in motion.

 

“No girlfriends? Not one?” Flo asked, sounding shocked.

 

“Unless you count my first grade girlfriend which lasted all of two weeks then no, ‘fraid not,” Eugene responded while he worked to keep his voice sounding as normal and relaxed as possible.

 

“That’s impossible! Look at you!” Flo exclaimed as she gestured to Eugene. “You’re adorable!”

 

“Thanks, Flo,” Eugene muttered, feeling heat rise around his collar while the other guys snickered like school children.

 

“I’m serious! You’re a total catch, Gene. What gives?”

 

“Just no one’s really caught my attention,” he responded slowly; it wasn’t totally untrue.

 

“So you’re just picky as shit?” Jay asked bluntly.

 

“No. I just… don’t feel it’s right to waste some girls time if I’m not completely interested. Is that so crazy?”

 

“Well, you’re one in a million, Gene,” Flo said seriously. “Whatever girl manages to catch your attention is gonna be lucky as hell.”

 

Thankfully that particular train of conversation petered out and within the minute Bill was complaining about the state of the Yankees in their current game. It was enough to get the train moving on their own favorite sports teams from across the country. Eugene knew it was Bill’s silent apology for what he did earlier and he was grateful for it.

 

He wasn’t lying to Flo when he said that no lady had caught his attention and he was pretty damn sure that after Holly in the first grade, no girl would ever capture his romantic attention, mostly because Eugene was not interested in women.

 

Eugene knew something was up since he was sixteen and almost pathetically infatuated with his best friend, Sidney, but he had hoped, prayed even, that it was just some sort of fluke. The crush eventually faded away but unfortunately the pull Eugene felt towards men never did. Over the years it was something Eugene had grown to accept about himself, even if he didn’t necessarily advertize it. He told some people, like his father and Sidney and Bill, but even after years he had difficulties about verbalizing that one fact about himself to others. Eugene assumed that it another vestige of the military still holding tight in his brain, what with “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” something that loomed over him for his entire military career.

 

 _These guys know Andy and Eddie_ , Eugene reminded himself while he picked at the label that wrapped around his beer bottle. _They wouldn’t care._

 

Feeling annoyed that his good mood had been so quickly derailed by an accidental comment, a comment that was only said because Eugene had to blab, Eugene took a look drink from his bottle and tried to jump into whatever conversation was going on now.

 

Half an hour later, Burgie disappeared, presumably to get another drink, while Flo ran off to see if darts were available on the other side of the bar. Taking a sip from his beer, Eugene’s eyes tracked lazily around the bar, bouncing from one item of interest to the next, before they landed once again on Snafu, who was still chatting up the girl at the bar from before. Now, however, they stood much closer and Snafu talked so directly into her ear Eugene thought for a moment or two that he might be kissing it.

 

Eugene glanced at what little of the girl's face he could make out and took in her seemingly excited smile. He had no doubt in his mind that Snafu had done every stupid thing Burgie and Jay said he did and probably more, but Eugene didn’t know if it was correct to say that Snafu had no game; he doubted that the girl would have stayed so long if he didn’t.

 

Realizing that his vision was starting to go out of focus, Eugene blinked his eyes rapidly and once his eyesight refocused he felt himself going red when his eyes locked with Snafu. For whatever horrifying reason, Eugene was unable to look away while Snafu continued to whisper into the girl’s ear, keeping his pale eyes focused on Eugene. The spell was only broken when Snafu’s mouth curled up into a cocky smirk and he winked, both, Eugene was sure, were intended solely for him.

 

Feeling like a fire had been lit under his collar, Eugene managed to break away before he busied himself with drinking deeply from his beer. In an attempt to keep him from embarrassing himself again, Eugene angled his seat so that he no longer was facing the bar. Draining his beer and wishing he had more for once, Eugene desperately tried to integrate himself back into Bill and Jay’s discussion .

 

A moment later, Eugene heard the scraping of chair legs on wood and noticed someone sit down in the seat next to him. Expecting Flo, Eugene turned and found himself face to face with Snafu, whose face was split into an almost cheshire cat like grin.

 

“Didn’t peg you as the kind of guy who likes to watch, Sledge,” he said as he leaned in close to Eugene’s ear, almost like how he had been talking to the girl at the bar. “To each his own I guess.”

 

Flustered, Eugene was saved from having to come up with a response when Jay noticed his roommate's return.

 

“So that girl finally got rescued from you?”

 

“She was not rescued,” Snafu snapped, turning on Jay.

 

“Escaped?” Jay tried again.

 

“Fuck off, Jay.”

 

“What’d Jay do?” Burgin asked as he returned to the table with a fresh beer in hand, Flo trailing behind him, his unoccupied hand held in one of hers.

 

“Only made a safe assumption,” Jay responded simply.

 

“Yeah and didn’t your mama ever tell you what assuming does to people?” Snafu countered.

 

“Hey, Snaf, what happened to that girl? Strike out?” he asked as he sat down. “What’d you do this time?”

 

“I did nothing but try to charm her, Burg, honest,” Snafu said indignantly. “Not my fault if the fish ain’t biting.”

 

“Uh, in your case I think it’s safe to assume that it _is_ your fault. I’ve heard your fucking pick up lines and honestly I’m still stunned that you’re not still a virgin. They are truly God-awful.”

 

“Fuck you too, Burgie. When was the last time you had to hustle and play the field?” Snafu argued. “You been glued to Flo’s side for a decade now.”

 

“Pretty sure Burgie still has better game than you, Snafu, even if he’s been out of commission for a decade.”

 

“Like I said, fuck you, Jay,” Snafu said with no real heat in his voice.

 

“You wish. I’m way out of your league,” Jay retorted without a beat.

 

“Anyways,” Flo said, speaking up. “Darts are free if anyone wants in”

 

“I’m in,” Eugene declared, getting up from his seat so quickly that he bumped into the table; anything to get him away from Snafu and his smirking face.

 

“So you wanna go or…?” Flo asked after they crossed the bar and arrived at the empty dartboard.

 

“Um, actually, Flo, I don’t really know how to play darts,” Eugene admitted sheepishly.

 

“Well it’s easy enough to learn,” Flo said with a shrug. “And lucky for you, you’ve got an _awesome_ teacher. I’ll explain and then I’ll let you warm up a bit before we really start.”

 

“Sounds pretty good to me.”

 

Flo was right; darts were simple enough to understand and after a few warm ups, Eugene was playing just fine. Just after they finished their first game, in which Flo repeatedly kicked his ass, Burgie and Jay appeared, bored and looking for entertainment.

 

“Come on, Gene,” Flo said as he threw an arm around Eugene’s shoulders and pulled him close. “We can totally crush them.”

 

Unable to refuse, Eugene teamed up with Flo and surprisingly, they managed to do as Flo predicted and bet the other duo. The prize for the victors took the form in new beers bought from the losers.

 

“How about we switch it up for the next one?” Burgie suggested after he returned with the drinks. “Me and Flo against Jay and Gene?”

 

“You just wanna be on the winning team for once,” Flo said, grinning cockily. “Sorry, babe, but me and Gene are the dream team tonight. You wanna win, you gotta win fair and square.”

 

“Maybe I just don’t wanna beat my wife,” Burgie said with a hint of a puppy dog look on his face.

 

“You’re just saying that because you know that you _can’t_ beat your wife,” Jay retorted with a sly smile, which earned him a look from Burgie. “What? Flo’s the best and you know it. Her picture’s hanging up in that bar in Austin because no one beat her.”

 

“Boys, we can talk about my achievements later- _after_ I’ve crushed you again,” Flo said brightly before she passed a dart to Eugene. “Gene, you're up. Make me proud.”

 

“I’ll try.”

 

It was odd, being with these people who in some ways he still did not know that well but who, because of their unlikely bond, he felt so comfortable around. When was the last time he felt so relaxed, so carefree, so happy? It had been long enough that Eugene couldn’t quite remember and that was proof enough that it had been some time.

 

For once, everything seemed to be working out. Bill was across the bar chatting with the bartender- who was also something of a friend to Bill, seeing as he spent so much time here -, Snafu was nowhere to be seen, and his stomach ached with how hard he was laughing.

 

But of course, he should know better by now, because no good things are really meant to last.

 

Suddenly, shouts from the other side of the bar drew their attention away from the board and toward the crowd that had gathered around the noise. Eugene watched as the bouncers jumped into the mess and began to yell over everyone else’s shouts.

 

 _Bar fight,_ Eugene thought with a tiny huff.

 

He was about to turn his back to it and try his best to ignore it when one of the shouting voices struck an all too familiar chord in his mind.

 

“Oh no,” Eugene sighed as he heard Bill’s voice rise above the noise, clearer than anyone else’s.

 

All of a sudden, Burgie burst forwards into the fray looking particularly determined. It surprised Eugene, to see Burgie going after Bill’s idiot ass like that, until he realized that Bill’s voice wasn’t the only one he realized.

 

_Snafu._

 

“God dammit,” Eugene hissed before he followed after Burgie and attempted to breach the thick crowd that formed around the two idiotic, hot-headed men.

 

Throwing his full body weight into the crowd, Eugene still struggled to get anywhere near the commotion. Looking to his right, he could make out Burgin making similar progress. Giving up momentarily on fight, Eugene craned his neck towards the exit and sure enough, saw a moment later as Bill and then Snafu were physically tossed out onto the street by the bouncer and one of the bartenders.

 

“Burgie!” Eugene yelled over the noise. Once he had the man’s steely blue eyes focused on him, Eugene motioned towards the back door; it’d be quicker this way than trying to fight around the still massive crowd. “Follow me!”

 

Together the two of them burst out the back door and into the alleyway before they sprinted around the building, hoping that when they found their friends again they weren’t still killing each other on the street or being shoved into a cop car. Eugene really didn’t have the kind of money to pay bail.

 

Thankfully, when they rounded the corner Eugene found neither of those two scenarios taking place. Instead of Bill and Snafu brawling on the sidewalk or being arrested, they simply sat on the sidewalk, backs pressed against the brick of the bar, freshly lit cigarettes hanging from the corner of their bruised and bloody mouths, talking calmly as if they hadn’t just been beating the shit out of each other moments ago.

 

“Must be slacking in the hand to hand combat in bootcamp nowadays,” Snafu said lazily as he rested his head against the brick building. “The fuck was that hit?”

 

“Enough to shut you up for a minute and give you a fat lip,” Bill responded cockily. “You wanna talk about weak hits, what the fuck was that hit you tried? Thought a fly flew into me.”

 

“Must of been one fatass fly because you’re jaws looking a little bruised there, Leyden.”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Snafu, or I’m gonna give you one to match.”

 

“Big talk from a little man,” Snafu laughed.

 

“What the fuck,” Eugene exclaimed softly once his brain managed to register the scene in front of him.

 

“Oh, hey, Gene,” Bill said, turning to look at his friend.

 

“What the fuck,” Eugene repeated louder this time.

 

“What?” Bill asked, looking annoyed.

 

“What the fuck was that, Bill?” Eugene exclaimed. “Why the fuck are you two picking bar fights with each other?! We leave you two alone for _ten Goddamn minutes_ and this is the shit you pull?”

 

“He kept looking at me weird,” Bill answered with a shrug while Snafu laughed quietly next to him, clearly enjoying Bill getting chewed out.

 

“That’s not a good enough reason, Bill! We don’t need this shit!”

 

“Keep laughing, Snafu, you’re in hot water too,” Burgie said, sounding more tired than anything while he glared at his friend.

 

“What? Leyden started it,” Snafu said, as if that absolved him from blame.

 

“You didn’t have to finish it,” Burgie said exasperatedly.

 

“‘Course I did, Burg. What kinda Marine am I if I don’t finish a fight,” Snafu countered.

 

Before anyone could say anything else, Jay and Flo emerged from the front door of the bar, their expressions of concern transforming into ones of irritation once they saw that both parties were conscious and no longer at each other’s throats.

 

“Snafu, if you get me banned from another fucking bar I swear to God!” Flo growled as she rounded on Snafu, lifting her purse up as if she was about to wail Snafu with it.

 

“Did we get banned?” Eugene asked, feeling his irritation for Bill rise.

 

“No,” Jay answered. “We talked to the bartender and he just told us to get the fuck home. The bartender seems used to these sort of antics from Bill.”

 

“See, Burgie, this kid’s got a history of bar fights, this shit ain’t on me,” Snafu said, speaking up before he turned back to look at Bill. “Ya know I hate to give you any credit but I gotta hand it to ya, Leyden, my eye’s fucking killing me. Got one hell of a right hook.”

 

“Yeah well, had to give a little extra after what you did to my jaw,” he responded as he gave his bruised jaw a rub.

 

“Thought you said it felt like a fly?” Snafu asked with a victorious grin.

 

“Shut the fuck up, Snafu,” Bill said without any heat in his voice.

 

“Unbelievable,” Eugene sighed with an exasperated shake of his head before he turned around and started to walk down the street.

 

Bill and Snafu weren’t going to kill each other- annoyingly enough, they seemed almost on better terms with each other now than they did before ,-they weren’t banned from the bar, and no one called the cops on them. It seemed that as long as Bill and Snafu were involved, there would no longer be anything resembling a calm night out.

 

It was just another one of many changes that he would have to learn to accept.

*        *        *

After all the drama that ensued Thursday night at the bar, the next few days around the shops were surprisingly relaxed. Bill and Snafu still bickered and snapped at each other during their downtime but Eugene could sense that an odd sort of begrudging respect had formed between the two men.

 

It exasperated Eugene to no end but as long as their idiotic little barfight formed some sort of peace between the two men, Eugene would be okay with it.

 

“...So you would like two dozen roses, one white and one pink, and a dozen tiger lillies?” Eugene spoke into the phone while he jot down the order on a notepad. “Okay and would you like to pick them up in store or we can deliver them for a fee...”

 

Eugene looked up from the notepad when he heard the jingling of the front bell; he expected a customer but instead found Burgie and Jay entering the shop. Eugene gave them a quick wave of acknowledgement before he returned to the call.

 

“Well the charge would depend on the distance of the destination. It’s two dollars for the first mile and another dollar for every mile after the fact so I believe that for you the charge would be six or so dollars extra.”

 

“What’s up?” Bill asked as he made his way from the back of the shop, noticing their guests.

 

“Got an updated from Hillbilly,” Burgie answered.

 

“Yes, sir, we can get them delivered tonight if you’d like. It’d be no extra charge for tonight, we have the time,” Eugene continued to talk to the customer while his focus shifted towards Burgie and Jay. “So just to clarify, three dozen flowers, one pink roses, one white roses, one tiger lillies. Would you like any messages added to them…? Yes we can just provide you with blank cards for you to fill out. Yes, I can get those over to you by around seven tonight, would that work? Alright, sounds great, thank you for choosing us to do business with us.”

 

Eugene hung up the phone before he turned to the two men expectantly.

 

“Busy?” Jay asked with a hint of a smile.

 

“A little. May and June are always a little busy with proms and graduations,” he said with a shrug. “But what did Eddie say?”

 

“He and Andy think that they’ve ironed out their plans but we thought it best to run them by you guys before we committed to anything,” Burgie started. “They were thinking of coming up Friday and then staying for a week or so.”

 

“Sounds great to me,” Eugene said as he exchanged looks with Bill, who nodded in approval.

 

“We- me, Burgie, Snaf, and Flo -were talking too and we thought about maybe closing up shop a little early Friday, since Andy wants us all over his place for dinner.”

 

“And also possibly opening up a little later on Saturday. Cus frankly things are probably going to get a little out of control Friday night with all of together again. I doubt any of us are gonna be in the mood to wake up early to open then,” Burgie said with a smile. “But we didn’t know what you’d be up to. Figured it’d be best to coordinate.”

 

“Guess that’s up to you, boss,” Bill said, turning to look at Eugene.

 

“I don’t see why we couldn’t do that,” Eugene responded. “It sounds great. I can go make some signs now so people know in advance about the hour changes.”

 

“Great. Well, we’ll call him back and let him know,” Burgie said before he and Jay slipped towards the exit.

 

“See ya later,” Jay said in parting.

 

“You wanna print out a couple signs?” Eugene asked. “I gotta get these orders ready and out.”

 

“Sure thing. What times should I change it to?”

 

“How about close at 4 on Friday and open two hours late on Saturday?” Eugene suggested as he began moving around the shop so he could prepare the orders; Friday evenings were usually dead anyways, it wouldn’t be too much of a waste.

 

“Works for me,” Bill shrugged before he disappeared into the back.

 

Half an hour later, Eugene was slipping through the crowded and confusing streets of Boston on his bicycle with his orders secured in the front basket of his bike. While he peddled, his mind drifted to Friday.

 

In less than a week Andy and Eddie would be back in town. It had been almost a year since the two of them had been back in Boston, not since Eugene and Bill first opened their shop. Eugene didn’t want to dwell on it but he couldn’t help but wonder if there would be any noticeable change in him since last year or if he looked just as bad as he did when he first arrived in Boston.

 

A part of him wanted to say he was better, eating more, sleeping semi-regularly, and generally feeling- for the most part- less like shit. Another part however told him that maybe he wasn’t getting better. Perhaps he was just getting used to being this way.

 

 _You can’t dwell on it,_ Eugene hissed at himself as he skidded to halt outside of the customer's apartment block.

 

Doing his best to push those thoughts out of his brain, Eugene quickly locked up his bicycle before he grabbed the order form the basket and headed inside of the building.

*        *        *

_His Humvee rolled through the seemingly deserted hamlet slowly and carefully. Everyone was tense, eyes searching high and low for signs of danger, weapons ready to fire if necessary._

 

_Eugene felt as if he were a rubber band, stretched as far as it could go without snapping. All it would take was one noise, a movement out of the corner of his eye, a shout from one of the guys in his Humvee, and he’d let loose. He knew he wasn’t the only one. Eugene was sure if he turned to his six, he’d find Bill, looking as tense and as uneasy as he felt. But he didn’t look. He couldn’t. He had to keep his eyes on his sector._

 

_The driver turned a corner and suddenly all the stone buildings around them quickly became rubble. The once functioning village was now reduced to heaps of rubble and debris…_

 

And bodies, _Eugene thought numbly as his eyes fell upon a facedown individual, dirtied, unmoving, and surrounded by a pool of dark liquid that had to be blood._

_Eugene took in a deep breath and let it out slowly but did not look away from it. He couldn’t. He had to keep focused on his sector, even if it became harder and harder the farther they moved into the ruins; his buddies counted on him. He couldn’t shy away just because he didn’t want to see what bombs-_ most likely _our_ bombs, _he thought quietly –had done to innocent strangers._

 

  _Just as Eugene’s eyes landed on a horrifyingly small body, lying just to the side of the road, gunfire suddenly rang out from the east, shattering whatever tense calm had been shared among them. Suddenly everyone was on high alert, looking for a target, looking for a source-_

 

_The Humvee jerked to a stop before it picked up its pace and began racing through the abandoned streets, gunfire chasing after them the entire way. Eugene could hear the RTO yelling something but it sounded muted and twisted in his own ears. All he could hear was the constant sound of gunfire, coming both from a distance and from his immediate surroundings._

 

_His eyes locked on a moving figure in the distance, he caught the glint of sunlight as it shone on the scope of a weapon. Eugene readied his aim before he squeezed the trigger and watched at the figure fell as the Humvee tore out of the area as fast as possible. In the back of his mind he was sure he should have felt something, something akin to horror at the fact that he may have just taken another human's life, but between the adrenaline pumping through his system and his training echoing in his mind, telling him not to think about it, to stay in the moment, to keep focused, Eugene couldn’t focus too much on the thought._

 

_As soon as they had entered into the ambush, they were freed of it. The Humvee was now rolling at a steady pace through the outskirts of the ruined village while everyone around him breathed a deep sigh of relief and laugh at the sheer idiocy and luck that saved them all._

 

_“…everyone is alright, though?”_

 

_“Gene?”_

 

_Eugene blinked rapidly a few times, breaking himself out of his semi-frozen state, before he looked over his shoulder and found Bill staring at him, blue eyes shining brightly from under his Kevlar, grinning like the others but Eugene could see the smile fall slowly the longer it took Eugene to respond._

 

_“Yeah,” he choked out. “’m good.”_

 

_Knowing that the threat had disappeared and that it was okay for him to lower his guard for a moment, Eugene glance down at the hands that clutched his weapon; they were trembling so wildly Eugene was sure that if he tried to shoot something now he’d have worse aim than he did when he was ten and his father took him shooting for the first time._

 

_Eugene gave himself a moment to compose himself. He just needed a moment and then he would be fine, back to his normal fighting strength. Eugene closed his eyes as he took in a deep but shaking breath._

 

Breathe in… breathe out… you’re fine. You’re alive. You’re fine. Breathe in…

 

_“You sure?” Bill asked quietly, voice low enough that the front of the Humvee was probably unable to hear him._

 

Eugene opened his eyes but instead of seeing endless expanses of sand and rocks and rubble, he saw darkness and dim shadows. The heat that surrounded him was still present but more muted. There was a rattling noise coming from the corner of the dark room he couldn’t place…

 

 _Box fan_ , Eugene told himself as he pushed himself onto a shaking elbow. _You’re in your room. It was a dream._

 

“A dream,” Eugene repeated, his voice rough, while he ran a trembling hand over his sweating face.

 

_A memory._

 

It wasn’t a particularly damaging memory but the dream had been so vivid, so intense, and Eugene’s limbs shook as badly as they did on that day years after ago after their first firefight. It felt as if all the adrenaline he experience on that day had been injected into his veins while he slept. He needed to get up.

 

Eugene only spared a moment to grab his pipe box from off of the top of his bookshelf before he exited his room and headed for fresh air. He was sure that he was running but he knew that he couldn’t stop himself if he tried. He needed to get out.

 

Stumbling out on the balcony, Eugene gasped desperately at the humid, warm air; usually he would hate the feeling of the damp air but after his dream where he was surrounded by such dry heat, he was grateful for it.

 

Feeling the adrenaline slipping out of his body, leaving him feeling weak and unsteady, Eugene collapsed on the arm of the dilapidated sofa and mentally curse the shaking that still coursed through his extremities.

 

Mind still painfully hyper aware, Eugene caught movement out of the corner of his eye and shot back onto his unsteady feet; he clutched the railing for support. A moment later and Eugene spotted Snafu, leaning against the perimeter railing, the glowing ember of a lit cigarette visible in one hand while a bottle was visible in the other.

 

Surprisingly, Snafu did not pay him any attention. Instead he stayed still, kept his eyes focused on the exterior wall of his apartment in front of him, only ever moving to bring his cigarette or his bottle to his lips. Know how much Eugene disliked it when he got stared at himself, he turned his eyes away and focused on packing and lighting his own pipe, something that was made much more difficult by his still trembling hands.

 

For the longest time it was oddly silent on the balcony. Eugene was halfway done with his pipe and feeling almost halfway back to normal but he was still sure that Snafu had no idea that he was no longer alone on the balcony. He stayed as quiet as he could. He didn’t know Snafu that well but he was sure that nothing good would come out of accidentally breaking a Marine out of a such a headspace; he had seen that shit go south plenty of times with the likes of Haney.

 

Eugene heard the quiet slosh of liquid before it was followed moments later by the distinct sound of retching and the unpleasant splattering noise that could only be vomit hitting the street below. His suspicions were confirmed when he turned and watched as Snafu dry heaved a few more times over the railing before he wiped his mouth with his forearm.

 

“Are you alright?” Eugene asked gently as Snafu turned his back against the railing again.

 

With alcohol-hazed eyes, Snafu stared at him for a long moment before he turned away and began searching his pockets, half-drunk bottle of alcohol still resolutely clutched in one of his hands. After a moment, Snafu managed to produce a pack of cigarettes but when he failed to find a lighter in one of his pockets, he swore.

 

“Um, need a light?” Eugene said in slightly louder than normal voice.

 

Snafu turned back to face him and when he blinked owlishly at him, clearly confused, Eugene held up Haney’s lighter and gave it a little shake, hoping that that would be enough to jog Snafu’s alcohol-impeded mind. It took another moment but eventually the message clicked in Snafu’s brain and he made his way over to Eugene, stumbling only slightly.

 

Once his cigarette was lit- it took a couple tries in Snafu’s current state -Snafu returned the lighter to Eugene before he collapsed ungracefully on the balcony ground and sat with his back pressed against the railing the separated the two sides of the balcony. Not sure what else to do, Eugene returned to his seat on his couch, his own back to Snafu, while they smoked in silence.

 

It was odd. Usually whenever Eugene came out to the balcony in such a state as he did tonight, he felt irritation at not being able to work through his tornado of emotions in peace. Tonight, however, he felt none of that. Maybe it had something to do with the degree of Eugene’s nightmare tonight, he wasn’t sure, all he knew was that he was content to stay sitting and smoking, and only ever really moving to pass his lighter back to Snafu when he made a gesture through the railing for it.

 

Around the time he was able to see the very first hints of morning light breaking through the darkness of the night sky, Eugene got up from his seat, feeling moderately improved and hopeful that maybe he could get another hour or two of sleep still.

 

“Night,” Eugene said politely to Snafu.

 

Snafu didn’t answer. Instead he brought the near empty bottle to his lips and drained it before he slipped to his side and collapsed onto the balcony, the bottle making gentle noise as it rolled away from him.

 

“Snafu?” Eugene asked as he watched the man roll onto his back with a small groan. “Snafu? You alright?”

 

Unsure of what to do Eugene crouched down before he reached through the bars and gave Snafu’s shoulder a quick shake. Snafu slapped his hand away before he threw a limp arm over his eyes.

 

“Snafu,” Eugene said in a louder, firmer voice.

 

“Shut the fuck up,” Snafu slurred as he rolled back onto his side so that his back was to Eugene once again. “‘m tryin’ to sleep.”

 

Within the minute, Eugene could hear soft snores coming out of Snafu’s thin body. Unsure of what to do, Eugene stood back up and gave Snafu’s snoring form one more parting glance before he reentered his apartment.

*        *        *

The excitement in the air Friday morning was palpable and could only be described as being similar to one that would surround young children on Christmas morning.

 

All morning, Eugene putted about the shop, desperate for a customer to walk in and give him a distraction; few, unfortunately, would come in and save him from his own anxious excitement. Bill passed most of the morning by bickering with Snafu out front while he accidentally over-watered the front displays; Eugene was too keyed up to yell at him for either offense.

 

He checked his watch for what had to be the fiftieth time that day; it was just after three in the afternoon now. Eugene checked his phone again and saw that he still had no new messages from either of the men. Andy had texted him around lunch that they were outside of New York City but since then there had been no new updates.

 

 _Maybe one of the other guys got an update,_ Eugene thought while he bounced his foot up and down at a rapid pace, watching as Bill made his way back into the shop.

 

Just as he was about to act on that impulse and walk over to the tattoo parlor to ask the guys if they had any news, a candy apple red Mustang pulled up in front of the shop.

 

Eugene knew only one person who had a car like that. He had heard plenty of stories about how it had been inherited and almost entirely rebuild.

 

Grinning, almost uncontrollably, Eugene turned to look at Bill and found that he had a similar expression on his face.

 

“Well, what the hell are we waiting for?” Bill asked before he headed towards the door.

 

Feeling happier than he had in a long time, Eugene followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andy and Eddie are here! Whose ready for some light family time with the Dads?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some much needed family time with Andy and Eddie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So really sorry for the wait on this one guys; i've just been extremely busy with work so i have next to no time to write most days (went from working 40 hours a week over the summer to working 50+ hours... :/)
> 
> hopefully this chapter is good enough that it makes up for it

*           *        *

“Well, doesn’t this just look like a recipe for disaster,” Eddie said as he exited his car, soft voice carrying the subtle southern twang Eugene remembered.

 

Eddie Jones rounded the hood of his car before he leaned against his precious automobile, giving Eugene a chance to fully look over the man. His curly auburn hair was longer than it had been in the Corps, there was stubble growing on his jaw that would have gotten him reprimanded for neglecting the grooming standard, and there were now a pair of wire frame glasses resting on his face that hadn’t been there the last time Eugene saw him. But he was still as thin as Eugene remembered him being- some people were just built that way, no matter how many home cooked meals they got -and that serene smile on his was the same as it had been years ago.

 

“Should be against housing codes to have this many Marines so close together,” Eddie joked as he turned to watch Andy exit the passenger’s seat.

 

“Not the kind of question that’s in the standard rental application,” Andy said as he straightened out and leaned against the car next to Eddie.

 

Removing the pair of sunglasses he wore on his face, Andy turned and smiled, his blue eyes doing a quiet examination of all of them standing on the sidewalk in front of them.

 

Like Eddie, Andy’s hair was longer than it had been but now it was a soft brown color, no longer bleached blond by desert sun. His face was a little more rounded than it was in Eugene’s memory and the seemingly permanent dark marks under his eyes were gone, proof that he was sleeping well for once.

 

Eugene felt a coil of anticipation tightening more and more the longer the moment went on but he wasn’t sure what to do with it. Glancing at the others, he saw them all standing straight backed in line- even Flo seemed to be frozen -waiting for orders to move.

 

“At ease,” Andy said with a wide grin that caused the skin around his eyes to crinkle and for Eddie chuckled next to him. “We’re all civilians now. No need to wait for my orders anymore.”

 

Just like that, whatever calm or order that was present on that sidewalk evaporated instantly. Everyone was talking over one another, laughing and shouting, catching up with each other, everyone vying for Andy and Eddie’s attention like excited children whose parents had just returned from a long vacation away.

 

“Well, Snafu, I always said you had to have a couple holes in your head and now here’s the proof,” Eddie joked as he took in Snafu’s myriad of piercings.

 

“The parlor’s looking great guys,” Andy commented as he stared at the storefront. “I’m really impressed.”

 

“Come on in and check it out,” Burgie said. “Your first tattoo’ll be on the house.”

 

“Oh, I’m not so sure if I’ll get to that this week,” Andy said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. “Maybe extend that offer up to Eddie instead.”

 

“Offer me what?” Eddie asked, turning to look at Burgie curiously.

 

“You know I thought your shop looked nice the last time was around but in the past year this place has really flourished,” Andy said proudly to Bill and Eugene as he took in the exterior of their shop. “I can really tell all the time and effort you’ve put in this place.”

 

“I’d ask Flo if you’re taking care of her but I know you wouldn’t be alive to respond if you weren’t,” Eddie laughed at Burgie as he gave Flo a big bear hug.

 

“What happened to you? Get into another fight?” Andy asked as he pointed out the yellowing bruises on Bill’s face, his voice carrying just the slightest hint of disapproval.

 

“Yeah, with Snafu,” Eugene responded as he gave Bill a flat look.

 

“I told you, Gene, he started it.”

 

“Why am I not surprised?” Eddie said with a shake of his head as he turned to look at Bill’s bruised face.

 

“Hey, what’s up with those glasses, Hillbilly?” Bill asked, as he motioned to the frames on Eddie’s face.

 

“Know what they say, sucks getting old, Bill,” Eddie said easily before he turned to Flo and Jay and pointed at their multi-colored locks. “You two realize that Halloween’s not for another four months, right?”

 

“Keep talking, Ed, you’re gonna be next,” Flo threatened playfully. “Whatcha ya think, Jay? A nice violet? Think it’d go nice with his skin tone.”

 

After a few more minutes of catching up on the sidewalk, Eddie and Andy were pulled to inspect both shops, a process that took almost a full hour and was only stopped when Eddie pointed out that they still needed to get back to Andy’s house, unpack, and get dinner ready.

 

“Well then, we better get going,” Andy agreed as he checked the time on his wrist watch, looking a little displeased at the idea of leaving.

 

“We’ll be here all week, you can come by every day,” Eddie reminded him. “But you’re gonna be more upset when you have to wait another hour for your dinner because you didn’t want to leave.”

 

“I’d listen to him, Ack Ack,” Snafu said with a grin from where he sat on front steps of the parlor, looking amused at the scene in front of him. “We all know Hillbilly don’t ask nice twice.”

 

“We have to start closing up anyways,” Burgie said as he checked the time on his phone.

 

“Well then, guess we should head out now then,” Andy relented. “Come round the house around seven? Or earlier if you’d like. And bring your appetites, Eddie’s been dying for a chance to cook for a bunch of people again.”

 

“Andy, you know you don’t have to ask this lot to bring their appetites,” Eddie said. “They’re gonna eat us out of house and home.”

 

“Well, at least we won’t have any leftovers laying around the house,” Andy shrugged before he opened the passenger’s side door of the car.

 

There were a couple more parting words and hugs and jokes before both Andy and Eddie managed to slip back into Eddie’s mustang. The six of them watched from the sidewalk as they went down the street and only moved once the car rounded the corner and disappeared.

 

“Okay, got two and a half hours to close and clean up,” Burgie said as he double checked the time again, voice edging into what Eugene assumed it sounded like when he was a sergeant. “Meet back here ‘round 6:30 so we can head over to catch the train together.”

 

“Roger that,” Eugene nodded before he gripped Bill by the shoulder and lead him back to the shop; Bill followed without an issue. Even Bill was too excited to ruin the prospect of dinner with Andy and Eddie to bicker or debate on plans.

 

“You go on up and start washing up,” Bill said as he locked the front door behind him and flipped the sign on the door so the ‘closed’ sign faced towards the street. “I got this.”

 

“You sure?”

 

“Yeah, you opened, you should be off earlier,” Bill pointed out before he added with a smile, “And I know you. You’re gonna need that extra time to get you hair combed the way you like and get yourself all shined up nicely.”

 

“Nothing wrong with looking presentable. Maybe one day you’ll learn,” Eugene countered before he headed towards the back and slipped out the alley door.

*           *        *

Thankfully, time moved faster during the second half of the day so Eugene was saved from repeating his morning of constantly checking his watch and wishing for time to speed up. In fact, time seemed to move too fast because next thing Eugene knew he was sitting down on an empty train seat, headed for Andy’s family house in one of the nearby suburbs.  

 

Once everyone was seated and the train lurched back to life, Eugene couldn’t help but glance around at everyone and noticed that everyone appeared to be dressed a little sharper than their usual selves, even Snafu was dressed in completely respectable flannel shirt that seemed to be void of any stains or rips, which was asking a lot from the guy. They all had to know that Andy and Eddie wouldn’t care if they showed up in the pajamas but Eugene knew they all still had a large part inside of them that wanted to impress their beloved officers.

 

As the train rattled and shook down the tracks, Eugene tugged at the stiff collar of the grey button up shirt he had pulled on, now regretting the choice because of the heat the seemed to be trapped around his neck.

 

It had been almost a full year since Eugene wore a button up, the last time he had done so was when he stood next to Sidney at his wedding. Eugene couldn’t help but remember how back then the collar of his shirt had choked him, felt like a noose, would have probably unbuttoned his shirt collar half way through the ceremony if it wasn’t for Sid. His collar now wasn’t quite at noose level of uncomfortable but it still wasn’t the most pleasant experience; how the hell did he wear these all the time growing up?        Dressed in his button down, slacks, and loafers- an outfit Bill had dubbed too formal for dinner at Andy’s but Eugene easily ignored his commentary as he left their apartment earlier -Eugene couldn’t help but wonder if he looked anything like the kid he used to be, wondered if he looked like someone who his friends and family back home might recognize, or if he looked more like an impostor wearing a costume.

 

Eugene was shaken from this line of thought when he noticed his friends getting up from their seats around him; they had reached their stop without Eugene even realizing it. Giving his head a quick shake, Eugene followed after them and exited the train car.

 

Andy’s family home was located in one of the richer Boston suburbs where all the homes were big and beautiful with immaculate lawns and all the storefronts around town looked like they should be part of a set for a television show instead actual stores everyday people shopped in. It almost didn’t seem real.

 

The house, an old Georgian Colonial which sat on almost two acres of land, had belonged to Andy’s family for generations, apparently dating back to the days of the Civil War, and when Andy’s elderly parents decided the house was too much work to upkeep and Boston weather was less than desirable, they did what many affluent elderly people do and moved to a condo in Florida. Andy, as the eldest Haldane sibling, inherited the house six years ago and although Andy currently lived and worked in Maryland with Eddie, Eugene knew that Andy had plans to fix up the house the way he liked it and move back to Boston eventually. In the meantime, it served as a vacation home or a place to hold Corps reunions, which was what first brought Eugene to Boston four years ago.

 

The group ascended the front brick steps which led to the front door but before any of them could even ring the doorbell, the front door swung open revealing Andy, who smiled warmly at them as he stepped back to allow them all to enter the home.

 

“Come on in, guys,” Andy greeted them, his personal excitement over the prospects of tonight obvious with just one glance at him.

 

“I’m hungry,” Snafu declared bluntly as he stepped over the threshold into the foyer, looking very much like a petulant teenager with his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. “Dinner ready yet?”

 

Before Andy could answer, there was a soft thwacking noise that came with Burgie slapping Snafu upside the back of his head.

 

“ _Ow_ ,” Snafu whined before he rubbed the assaulted area. “Not so rough.”

 

“Yeah, we gotta protect the brain cells Snafu has left, Burgie,” Jay spoke up in a completely serious tone, while Bill snickered behind them.

 

“What have we told you about being rude to hosts?” Burgie hissed, sounding very much like a disappointed parent.

 

“‘Don’t’?” Snafu answered with a shrug, hand still resting on the back of his head.

 

“Squabbling already?” Eddie asked as he appeared around the corner, a well-worn “Kiss the Cook” apron tied around his front to keep his olive-colored flannel safe. “Keep this up, Shelton, and you’re not gonna get any dessert.”

 

“I was just asking what time dinner’d be done, shit,” Snafu groused. “Can’t a man ask questions around here?”

 

“Gonna need another thirty minutes or so,” Eddie answered, mouth a firm line but even from this distance Eugene could make out contained laughter in his eyes. “In the meantime, you can go fill your bottomless pit of a stomach with whatever chips and pretzels Andy put out. Hopefully that’ll hold you out.”

 

“No promises, Hillbilly,” Snafu responded as he easily slipped towards the back of the house where Eugene knew the Great Room was located.

 

“Well, come on in then,” Andy said as he closed the door behind them, smile still present on his face. “We can wait in the living room while Eddie finishes up.”

 

“Correction: you all can wait in the living room _after_ you’ve set the table,” Eddie said as he sent a look over his shoulder at Andy. “Gotta pull your weight somehow around this house if all you can manage is making a pot of coffee.”

 

“You love my coffee though,” Andy pointed out as they moved away from the front door.

 

“That’s beside the point.”

 

“I’ll give you a hand, Eddie,” Flo offered as she picked up her pace so that she was next to Eddie. Smiling brightly, Flo slipped one of her arms around one of Eddie’s. “The rest of them are hopeless in the kitchen.”

 

“My, Ms. Risley, aren’t you just a lifesaver,” Eddie said sweetly before he and Flo disappeared arm in arm through a swinging door which lead to the kitchen.

 

“I already set the table,” Andy said as soon as the duo were out of earshot. “Come on, let’s get moving before Snafu eats everything.”

 

As everyone followed Andy through the home, talking and laughing loudly as they went, Eugene trailed just behind them, eyes bouncing around each room, from decoration to decoration.

 

Andy’s home was filled with all sorts of knick knacks and decorations, some of which belonged to Andy and were mementoes of his time spent around the world, but others were from previous generations of Haldane’s who once called this house home. Despite the grandeur of the house, the wide assortment and variations of decoration gave the house an eclectic feel that took the edge off of the high ceilings and the chandeliers, the wainscoting and the columns and made it feel warm.

 

“Sorry if things are a little dusty, guys,” Andy apologized as they entered the Great Room. “We didn’t nearly have as much time as we thought when we got back to clean up.”

 

The Great Room lived up to its name. Three full couches, two stuffed armchairs, and numerous coffee tables all fit comfortably within the room, along with a grand fireplace, an entertainment system with a large flat-screen television, a fully stocked floor to ceiling book shelf, and numerous large decorated pots, which Eugene assumed once held indoor plants when people regularly lived at the house. French doors along the wall opposite the entrance led to the large back deck.

 

Snafu had already made himself perfectly at home on one of the full-sized couches with his feet kicked up and resting on the edge of the large wooden coffee table which sat in the center of the room. A half-empty bowl of popcorn rested on his chest while he flipped idly through the channels displayed on the large flat-screen.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Ack Ack,” Burgie said easily as he slapped Snafu’s feet off of the coffee table and sunk down in the couch next to him. “You know we’ve been in dirtier conditions before,” he added before he swiped the bowl of popcorn from Snafu’s unsuspecting hands, which resulted in Snafu making a rather childish whine.

 

“Still,” Andy shrugged. “You’re guests.”

 

“Quit fretting over dust, Andy, we’re fine,” Bill declared as he made himself comfortable on one of the unoccupied couches and scooped up a handful of chips from a nearby bowl. “You ain’t gotta impress us. Now sit down. Take a load off.”

 

“’Never stand when you can sit’, remember,” Eugene reminded Andy quietly as he went to sit down next to Bill; when he glanced back up at Andy he found a gentle smile on his face and a soft look in his eyes.

 

Instead of commenting on Eugene’s reminder, he simply reached out and patted Eugene firmly on the shoulder.

 

“I’d love to sit and relax with you boys but I really ought to give Eddie a hand,” Andy admitted as he looked over his shoulder towards the archway which led to the kitchen.

 

“You just sit your ass down,” Eddie’s voice rang out of the kitchen just as Andy turned to leave. A moment later and Eddie appeared in the entryway, holding a hot tray with thick oven-mitts on. “Me and Flo have got things situated just fine. We don’t need you in here with your cursed culinary skills messing up this good meal.” As Eddie turned to walk back into the kitchen, he yelled, “this is what happens when they grow up rich and don’t have to fend for themselves, Flo. They burn everything!”

 

“Then how do you explain _my_ husband?” Flo’s voice sounded from deeper within the kitchen.

 

“Hillbilly’s got a point with rich kids not knowing how to cook,” Bill said loudly before he reached over and shook Eugene’s shoulder roughly. “’m afraid Sledge is gonna burn down the whole apartment whenever he turns on a burner.”

 

“Like you have any room to talk, Bill,” Eugene retorted as he shook out of Bill’s tight grip. “I may not know a lot about cooking but I’m pretty sure ordering take-out every time it’s your turn to take care of dinner doesn’t make you good at cooking either.”

 

Not too long after that Eddie was back and ordering everyone to come help carry things out to the dining room. Together they filed into the kitchen and cut through to the large and impressive formal dining room, only pausing to pick up some platter or bowl of food or serving implements. As Eugene doubled back into the kitchen to pick up a forgotten item, he couldn’t help but smile at the scene before him.

 

“If I turn around and see you picking at my pecan pie one more time,” Eddie warned as he dug through the fridge, back to Andy, who was currently standing next to the kitchen counter, looking guilty as he had just clearly plucked a loose pecan off of the top of the cooled pie.      

 

“I’m not picking,” Andy said, his voice sounding a little off as he attempted to chew the stolen pecan as quietly as possible.

 

“Andrew Haldane,” Eddie said as he turned around and gave Andy a stern look.

 

“You said if you turn around and see my picking and I’m not, Eddie,” Andy said as he raised his hands, either in a sign of surrender or to prove that his hands were nowhere near the pie. “So, I wasn’t lying.”

 

Eugene watched as a lightness came to Eddie’s eyes and he clenched his jaw, clearly done so to keep himself from smiling over Andy’s response.

 

“I mean can you blame a guy for not being able to stay away from your cooking?” Andy asked as he slowly began to reach his hand over in the direction of the pecan pie.

 

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Eddie warned, smile finally cracking on his face, before he whacked Andy’s hand away from the pie with the dishtowel that had been hanging around the waist of his apron. “You’re just a pain in my neck I don’t know why I keep you around.”

 

“You couldn’t last a week without me,” Eugene heard Andy tease as he turned back around and headed for the dining room.

 

“I think you’ve got that twisted, because as I remember it, _I_ wasn’t the one who couldn’t last a week…”

 

Eddie and Andy…

 

Ever since Eugene first joined K Company and met Eddie and Andy, it was obvious that they were close, much closer than a CO and an officer should be. There were always rumors amongst the guys about their level of closeness but no one ever dared make a comment out loud when there were people about who could make their lives hell if they felt like pursuing the rumor into a full fledged investigation; good combat leaders were hard to come by and no man was going to be the asshole who got two of the company’s best officers dishonorably discharged.

 

Eugene always wondered if he’d ever find out the truth about the true nature of the relationship between Andy and Eddie but also knew not to be surprised if no one ever came out with the facts; even after being discharged, DADT was still drilled into all of their brains and it wouldn’t have been odd if they kept things quiet, that is, if there was something to keep quiet about in the first place.

 

A little over a year after Eugene left the Corps, Andy surprised Eugene. Andy, now recently discharged from the Marines, had decided to throw a K company reunion. Part way through the night, Andy pulled Eugene aside to catch up and after getting caught up to speed on Eugene’s life, Andy admitted that he and Eddie were in fact dating.

 

Although Eugene had been a little surprised that Andy confided in him, he was even more surprised to find out that while serving in the Corps together, the two of them had not been dating or entertaining any form of hooking up at all, even when on leave and far away from prying eyes of the higher brass. Eugene told him as such and he remembered how in response, Andy had chuckled and said, “ _If I had had it my way the rumors would have been true…but it was probably for the best that we waited.”_

 

“No need to wait for my word,” Eddie said minutes later as he settled into his seat at one of the heads of the table, once everything had been brought into the dining room and everyone was seated. “It won’t get any better sitting out.”

 

“Wait,” Andy said before anyone could lunge forwards and attack the meal in front of them. “Shouldn’t we have a speech?” he asked, which earned a raised eyebrow from Eddie. “Or a toast? This _is_ a special occasion, having so many of you here together.”

 

“Well what exactly should we toast to?” Eddie asked as he leaned back in his seat, looking mildly amused as he stared at Andy, who sat at the opposite head of the table.

 

A concentrated look came to Andy’s face but no words came from him. After a few moments of relaxed silence, Burgie spoke up from where he sat to Eugene’s left.

 

“To new beginnings?” Burgie suggested as he raised his beer bottle in the air.

 

“To the tattoo parlor,” Snafu declared as he lifted his own bottle to meet Burgie’s in the middle of the table.

 

“To the flower shop,” Bill countered in a slightly annoyed tone.

 

“Alright,” Andy nodded with a soft smile on his face before he gave expectant looks to those who hadn’t spoken yet. “What else?”

 

“To friends,” Jay added.

 

“Friends- old _and_ new,” Flo clarified.

 

“To K/3/5,” Eugene said with a small shrug before he turned to his right to look at Andy.

 

“To family,” Andy said warmly, raising his own glass.

 

“To all of the above,” Eddie concluded with a lopsided grin before he raised his own glass into the mix. “Now everyone dig in, before Snafu and Leyden have an aneurism from having to wait another moment.”

 

“Can you blame me?” Snafu asked as he loaded up his plate with as much food as he could fit on it. “A guy don’t get to eat like this every day.”

 

“Clearly,” Eddie said with a hint of a smirk. “You still look as scrawny as you did before.”

 

“Like you’ve got room to talk about being scrawny,” Flo pointed out with a smirk as she reached out and lightly jabbed Eddie around the ribs.

 

For the next several minutes, conversation dropped off almost completely as everyone busied themselves with devouring as much of Eddie’s cooking as fast as they could. The only words really said were when someone asked to pass a dish or when someone was being accused of hogging some beloved food. However, once everyone’s stomachs started to fill and people began picking at their plates instead of shoveling food into their mouths, relaxed conversation began to fill the room.

 

“So, what are you guys planning on doing while you’re in town?” Jay asked as he leaned back in his chair, looking particularly sleepy. “You’re here for the week, right?”

 

“Same thing I do every time I’m back in town: I’m gonna try and bring this house into this millennium,” Andy answered with a small laugh. “I’m gonna try and get my paint choices in order but there are a lot of rooms in this house. The color in here seems kinda boring, don’t you think?”

 

“Could use a bit of color,” Eugene agreed as he looked around at the eggshell color on the wall.

 

“I don’t think this color’s been updated since I was in high school,” Andy said thoughtfully before he perked up and added, “Oh! I also wanted to maybe figure out a new landscaping plan for the backyard. Something that doesn’t require a lot of upkeep. My parents had a gardener come by to keep it all controlled but I really don’t want to have anything as ambitious as what they had. Eugene, you could probably recommend me some flowers that are low maintenance enough that even I won’t mess them up.”

 

“I could recommend you some different types of perennials that we can place now or even later in the season and then they’ll bloom every year with minimum upkeep,” Eugene explained.

 

“Hey that sounds like a great plan,” Andy agreed. “I’ll stop by the shop tomorrow or Sunday and we can try to plan it out?”

 

“We should probably take pictures of the backyard so we know the exact layout,” Eugene added thoughtfully. “Probably measure it too.”

 

“Do you think we could get those ordered and here in a week?” Andy asked.

 

“I don’t know,” Eugene responded. “We have some at the shop but I’m sure you’ll want more variety. You could always go to other places in town if you want it done this week.”

 

“Nah, I can wait,” Andy said confidently. “It doesn’t necessarily have to done this week. Maybe we’ll just get the planning done now.”

 

“We could always plant them while you’re gone,” Bill suggested, seemingly revived from the temporary food coma he had entered after his third round of helpings.

 

“Oh, you don’t need to do that.”

 

“At the rate you’re getting your projects done around here it won’t be the way you like until you’re ready to retire,” Eddie pointed out wisely from the opposite side of the table.

 

“Take the help. I know you wanna do everything around here with your own two hands but sometimes you gotta delegate.”

 

“Maybe you guys should just come up here more often,” Jay suggested from where he sat next to Bill. “Probably get you projects done a lot faster at that rate.”

 

“I’d love to come up here more often, especially with all of you here. It’s just easier said than done.”

 

“What else do you have planned for the reno?” Flo asked.

 

“Need to repaint almost every room, update the fireplace- I really like the idea of wood burning but chopping the wood is a lot of work, I was thinking of switching it to a gas insert. The kitchen and the master bath honestly could use a massive overhaul. The garage door needs replaced.”

 

“So what exactly _have_ you gotten done around here?” Snafu asked as he lazily picked at the remains of his meal.

 

There was a quick thumping noise followed by a hiss from Snafu; it only took a moment for Eugene to realize that Flo had kicked Snafu under the table for his somewhat tactless comment.

 

“It’s a fair question,” Andy said, clearly amused, as he watched Snafu reached down to rub his shin. “Sometimes it feels like I haven’t done much around here. But it _is_ a lot of house to get through.”

 

“Well why don’t you stay for longer than a week?” Jay asked. “School’s out, what’s stopping you? Could at least get the back yard off your to-do list if you stayed longer.”

 

“We could stay longer, if it weren’t for the fact that Mr. Football coach here has to be back in Maryland in time for summer conditioning to start,” Eddie spoke up.

 

“I’ll get the backyard planned by the end of the week,” Andy stated firmly, stating the declaration at Eddie.

 

“Sure,” Eddie said with a lazy smile. “We’ll see about that.”

 

“Planned _and_ partially started,” Andy added confidently.

 

“I don’t doubt you,” Eddie said in a sincere voice before he leaned closer to Flo and said in stage whisper, “man’s bit off more than he can chew.”

 

“So little faith,” Andy said with a slightly dramatic sigh and a shake of his head.

 

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you get it done,” Eugene said confidently.

 

“Thanks, Eugene,” Andy said with a fond smile.

 

“I could help out some too,” Jay offered. “Maybe I can’t landscape but I could help get a start on repainting rooms or something. Helped my mom repaint the entire house one summer, sure I could do it again.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll give you a hand too,” Burgie decided. “It’s insane for you to try to get this all done by yourself.”

 

“… you know I’d love to help but someone really ought to man the parlor,” Snafu said stretched his thin arms above his head. “But best of luck around here, Ack Ack. You’re a hard working guy, you’ll get it done.”

 

“Oh don’t worry, Snaf, I can manage on my own,” Flo said sweetly with a wide smile. “I’m sure your talents would be better served here.”

 

“Pff, as if,” Snafu snorted before his lazy tone began to edge towards serious. “You forget _I’m_ the best artist in the shop? We wanna create and keep a good clientele base don’t you think I’d be best if we kept the best there?”

 

“Geez it’s called a joke, Snaf,” Flo said, rolling her eyes. “We know. You’re good at what you do. _And_ you hate manual labor.”

 

“He just wanted to hear you say he was the best,” Burgie said as he sent a flat look to his best friend.

 

“It’s the truth,” Snafu said seriously, sparking a hint of surprise in Eugene.. “But I still ain’t painting no wall or digging no damn ditches. I did enough of that in the shit.”

 

“Still don’t know how you made it through the Corps, kid,” Eddie said with a shake of his head. “Stubborn as a mule and only willing to move when under fire.”

 

“So what you’re saying is that we should keep some mortars stocked up to get Snafu moving when he doesn’t want to,” Jay said slowly.

 

“You know what, as effective as that sounds I don’t think the cops around he would be too fond of that move,” Andy said lightly as he got up from his seat and began cleaning up dirty dishes. “And while I _could_ offer bail money if needed, I’d really rather not have to do that.”

 

“But you’d be willing to if needed in the future?” Bill asked. “That’s good to know.”

 

“Now, if you and Snafu get tossed in the drunk tank for another bar brawl, I’ll let you sober up in the cell,” Andy corrected Bill before he sent Bill and Snafu stern looks.

 

One by one they all got up from their seats and slowly- now that they were weighed down a bit by the delicious meal -but surely collected their dirty dishes and helped to bring them all into the kitchen, despite Andy’s insistence they he do it.

 

“It’s loading dishes into a machine, not KP duty,” Bill pointed out dryly as he entered the kitchen. “I think we can handle this.”

 

After all of the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher and everything was cleaned up, everyone retired into the adjacent family room. The family room, despite being a deal smaller than the Great room, still held two full couches, a large flat-screen television, a small fireplace, and a pool table. Despite the still considerable grandeur of the room, it felt comfortable, homier than the Great Room.

 

“Who's up for a game of pool?” Andy asked while slipped back into the kitchen to get drinks for everyone.

 

“I'm in,” Burgie said as he accepted a beer Eddie handed him from over the granite countertop that separated the kitchen from the family room. “Snaf?”

 

“I only play when there's money involved,” he said.

 

“Why? You a fan of losing money?” Eddie asked as he handed the man a beer. “I've never seen you win a game in your life.”

 

“Just cus you haven't seen it doesn't mean it hasn't happened,” Snafu countered, irritated.

 

“Yeah you know, it's like Bigfoot,” Jay said as he sat down on one of the couches and picked up the television remote. “I'll play next round.”

 

“Alright,” Eddie said as he rounded the counter and headed towards the pool table. “Rack 'em up, Burgie.”

 

As Eddie and Burgie prepared for their game, Eugene and Bill joined Jay on the couch while he flipped through the seemingly endless amount of television channels until he landed on the Red Sox game.

 

Jay had only managed to set down the remote when Eddie turned around and surprised them by raising his voice.

 

“No. Nu-uh. No sir-ee,” Eddie said firmly as he walked towards where they sat on the couch, an unusually stern look in his eyes. “You better change that channel Jay, I will not have hate brought into this house.”

 

“Wait, what?” Flo asked in confusion as she stared at Eddie.

 

“Yeah what's wrong with baseball?” Jay asked innocently as Bill turned and gave Andy a look over the back of the couch.

 

Eugene, however, knew exactly what Eddie was talking about. Feeling a headache forming already behind his eyes, Eugene sighed before he took a long drink from his beer.

 

“Gene,” Flo called out to him, noticing his response. “What's he talking about?”

 

“Just don't, whatever you say, mention the 2004 American League championship game,” Eugene said as he raised his hands in defense. “That's all I'm saying.”

 

“What? I think the 2004 championship is a great story,” Andy said in a completely innocent tone while he shot Bill a grin. “Everyone loves a good underdog story.”

 

“Yeah, great story, you guys sucked so badly for decades and then somehow managed to pull out a win at the last second, big whoop,” Bill snapped with a roll of the eyes.

 

“We sucked? Oh, well then what do you suppose you call the team that _lost_ to the team that _sucked?_ ” Andy asked, his tone leaving playful and edging towards something snider.

 

“Took you guys 86 years to get a championship win, I guess I’d call it us feeling sorry for your asses, especially after we kicked you asses in ’03,” Bill countered, now almost fully turned around on the couch so that he could properly yell at Andy.

 

“I don’t think I’d define winning 6-5 an ass kicking, especially when it took you guys until the _eleventh inning_ to get that last run,” Andy argued as his voice rose.

 

While Andy and Bill continued to argue, Eugene sent a half-hearted glare towards Jay for starting all this before Eugene reached up and tugged Bill back down into his seat.

 

“Calm down, Bill, it’s over,” Eugene snapped, feeling mentally exhausted.

 

“You too, Andy,” Eddie warned as he rounded on the other fuming man. “You’re a grown man. Act like it.”

 

There was a moment of heavy silence fell on the family room before it was broken by Jay calmly changing the channel to some cheesy action movie while he quietly remarked, “So that’s a no on baseball…”

 

“Holy shit,” Snafu exclaimed through a wheezing laugh; Eugene turned and watched as Snafu folded over in two from laughing so hard. “I ain’t never seen Ack Ack so worked up. Goddamn, Leyden, you some piece of work if you can get Ack Ack mad.”

 

“You don’t come between a man and their baseball team,” Andy said wisely in a calmer tone while Burgie and Flo joined in on the laughter.

 

“It was a fucking nightmare having to deal with those two together in ’04 right after it happened,” Eugene sighed. “I swore Andy was gonna court martial Bill if he didn’t shut up.”

 

“And that is why we do not under penalty of death, discuss baseball in this house,” Eddie said sternly as he pointed his pool cue at Andy and Bill before he landed on Snafu.

 

“What’chu pointing at me for?” Snafu asked, defensively.

 

“I know you, boy. And I know now that you know, you’re not gonna be above mentioning this shit just to ruffle some feathers,” Eddie explained.

 

“You think I’d purposely wanna ruffle Ack Ack’s feathers?” Snafu asked, sounding scandalized.

 

“I ain’t talking about ruffling _his_ feathers,” Eddie said slowly before he eyed the bruises still visible on Snafu and Bill’s faces.

 

“If hear him talking shit, you know I’ll be happy to knock him down a peg,” Burgie said seriously.

 

“I’d be glad to help you out with that Rom,” Flo offered with a smile.

 

“What a nice couples activity,” Jay teased, which caused a couple laughs.

 

“Alright, enough of that,” Andy said with a wave before he motioned to the pool table. “Time to get on with your game. I wanna see if Burgie’s improved any since the last time I saw him play. Maybe now he can finally beat Eddie.”

 

“That’s a pretty tall order,” Eddie said with a slight grin.

 

“I’m willing to try,” Burgie said as he lined up his first shot. “I've been working on my game.”

 

“Well let's see what you got, kid.”

 

The night continued on with little incident. After Eddie and Burgie squared off- where in Burgie put up a valiant effort but still failed to beat Eddie -Andy and Snafu were up. Eddie, Burgie, and Bill had slipped away to the back porch to smoke, which left Eugene and Flo standing shoulder to shoulder, leaning against the back of the couch while they watched the game of pool unfold in front of them.

 

As Eugene sipped his beer, a question that had been forming in the back of his mind since dinner finally slipped out.

 

“Hey, Flo,” Eugene asked quietly, so as not to gain the attention of the men standing a few feet away from them. “Is Snafu really the best artist at the shop?”

 

“What?” Flo asked, taken slightly aback. “Oh yeah. Defs. But don't let him hear I said that. That kinda shit’ll go straight to his already fat head if he hears it.”

 

“I can imagine,” Eugene said with a small smile.

 

“Why do you ask?”  

 

“Just kinda surprising I guess,” he said with a shrug. “When Snafu said it at dinner, wasn't sure if it was true or not. To be honest, I kinda figured Burgie was the main guy in the shop. Or even Jay. Snafu... He just seems like someone who's along for the ride.”

 

“Oh no,” Flo said with a shake of her head. “You've got it all wrong. Rom and Jay are good at what they do, sure, but if it's a competition, Snaf would win. It was his idea, the shop, all of it. Who knows where we'd be without his crazy ideas.”

 

“Hmm,” Eugene mumbled while he processed the information.

 

“I’m gonna get another drink,” Flo said as she stepped away from the couch. “You need a top up?”

 

“Um, sure,” he said, even though his beer was only slightly less than half full.

 

“Ed! You need a drink?” Flo said with a bright smile as she headed towards the kitchen.

 

“Oh, if you wouldn't be so kind,” Eddie said sweetly as he watched Andy line up his shot.

 

“What? Gonna ask everyone but me?” Snafu asked, annoyed

 

“I didn't ask because I know you'll always say yes,” Flo said as she began passing bottles over the kitchen counter towards them.       

 

Once Flo returned to her spot next to Eugene, Burgie, Jay, and Bill all walked back inside and bringing a change in conversation with them. While Flo chatted with Jay and Burgie about something, Eugene watched the pool game with mild interest while what Flo said about Snafu stuck quietly in the back of Eugene’s brain.

 

As the night progressed, more and more drinks were consumed, beer switched to harder liquor, and the idea of toasts returned and grew. Soon there were drunken toasts to the Yankees, Red Sox, to dollar beer night, the entire state of Texas, and of course, the long awaited wedding.

 

“Oh, fuck,” Flo exclaimed after her drunken toast, turning to look at Eugene and Bill. “You guys’re coming to the wedding.”

 

“We are?” Eugene asked, slightly surprised.

 

“Of course you are, Gene!” Flo yelled, giving Eugene a quick but hard whack on the arm for good measure. “You’re friends. You’re _family_! You’ve gotta come.”

 

“Well, I’d hate to have to say no to a lady,” Eugene said with a smile as he rubbed the sore spot on his arm; Flo really could hit pretty hard.

 

“Especially when she asked us so nicely,” Bill added in a flat tone.

 

“Fuck off, Bill,” Flo snapped, the smile on her face removing any heat from her tone.

 

“Hey, Sledge,” Burgie spoke up suddenly as he looked at the time on his wrist watch. “What time does the train stop running? It’s getting kinda late and we might have to start winding this shit down.”

 

Before Eugene could respond, Andy stepped in.

 

“You guys don’t need to rush back home,” Andy said warmly. “This house has plenty of space; you can all crash here tonight. We’ll drive you back in time to open the shops tomorrow.”

 

“So that means we need another round,” Flo said seriously, causing Eddie to laugh from where he stood next to her. “What, Ed? Too old to be hanging out with me all of a sudden?”

 

“Yes. One-hundred-percent,” Eddie nodded. “I was too old to keep up with you when I first met you.”

 

“I'm younger than you, Hillbilly, and I still can't keep up with her,” Jay lamented.

 

“No one can keep up with her,” Burgie said fondly.

 

“Pff, y'all are weak shit. This ain't hard,” Snafu snorted as he accepted a shot glass from Flo.

 

“Yet another thing Burgie and I just can’t outmatch you in,” Jay said seriously. “You’re truly a man of many talents, Snafu.”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Jay.”

 

When Flo passed Eugene a shot glass of amber liquid, he accepted it without a fight, even though he desperately wanted to hand it back. He had only known Flo for a short time and although he was already rather fond of her, as Eugene stared at the shot in his hand he couldn't help but feel like that vibrant young woman might be the actual death of him.

 

On cue, Eugene joined the rest of them and downed his shot as best as he could. As soon as the shot went down his throat he felt almost immediately the desire to spit it back up but he fought it. Setting the empty shot glass down on the nearest surface, Eugene leaned against the back of the couch while he tried to stabilize himself. He felt hot, his heart hammered a little too fast against the inside of his ribcage, and he still felt a pretty strong desire to throw up.

 

Eugene couldn't remember the last time he drank like this, so regularly and to this degree. It had probably not been since the time he was crashing at Bill's place in Brooklyn.

 

Unlike the typical shell shocked veteran one would see in the movies, Eugene really didn't really drink, didn't turn to drugs or alcohol to numb the pain. He had tried it before when he was at his worst but for whatever reason he didn't see the appeal of it. A few hours of numbness or sleep wasn't quite worth hangover that came with it for him. In fact, the entire idea of being numb didn’t work with Eugene. Despite the pain or anguish or guilt he felt, at the end of the day Eugene would rather feel like shit than feel absolutely nothing. The numbness reminded him too much of how he felt overseas after everything that happened with Oswalt, how he felt when he came home and was on that slew of medications that kept him alive but made him feel like anything but that.

 

Suddenly there was a strong, steady hand on his back and a warm, reassuring voice in his ear.

 

“Come on, Eugene.”

 

Eugene blinked and found Andy at his side, his hand on his back putting the slightest bit of pressure so that he moved away from the couch. Following Andy’s gentle request, Eugene allowed Andy to lead him away from the family room and into the kitchen. Andy stepped away from him for a brief moment and when he returned there was a cold glass being pressed into his hand.

 

“Drink up,” Andy ordered. “You look like you could use it.”

 

Never one to ignore a direct order from Andy, Eugene brought the glass to his mouth and drank deeply from it. He paused halfway through but brought the glass back up when Andy made a motion to continue. Once it was empty, Andy took the glass from him and refilled it with more water.

 

“Thanks,” Eugene mumbled, his brain beginning to clear while his stomach felt slightly more settled.

 

“No problem,” Andy said with a smile before he glanced at the chaos that continued to reign behind them. “It’s hard to say no to her when she gets like this.”

 

“Hard to say no to her ever,” Eugene countered, causing Andy to chuckle.

 

“Florence Risely is a force of nature,” Andy said in a serious tone. “But she means well.”

 

While Eugene drank from his second cup of water, Andy turned and watched the scene in front of him with a fond look in his eyes. An argument had broken out between Bill and Snafu over what movie should be put on the television from Andy’s movie collection- Back to the Future part I or part II -with Burgie and Jay weighing in on either side. Flo and Eddie, meanwhile, seemed to be in deep conversation, both of them completely untroubled by the scene going on behind them.

 

“I really missed this,” Andy admitted.

 

“Even if your house ends up getting trashed because of them?” Eugene asked as he turned around so he could properly watch them all.

 

“Need to fix this place up anyways,” Andy answered with a shrug. “If they make a mess, just another thing to tack on the to-do list. They can fix whatever they break this week.”

 

“So you'll actually let us help you?”

 

“Yeah. Why not? Eddie's right. It's ridiculous for me to try to fix this all on my own. And this way I can also still spend time with you boys.”

 

“Fuckin’ part II is the worst, Leyden!” Snafu shouted suddenly, voice raising above everyone else’s. “Fuckin’ hoverboards and cars in 2015?! It’s 2013 and all our asses still getting ‘round on regular tires. Times a’tickin’!”

 

“Sorry if my brain’s big enough to understand that a movie made thirty years ago might not be accurate!”

 

“The fuck you talking about? Your brain’s not big, your skulls just thick as fuck!”

 

“Hey, hey, hey!” Eddie called out, voice edging towards what he used to sound like when he was a Gunny giving orders. “If y’all don’t start acting right soon you’re gonna have hell to pay… besides, both of you are wrong, the third part is the best.”

 

“Oh bullshit,” Bill cried.

 

“You just like it cus it’s a fucking western, Hillbilly,” Snafu said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“We should get out of here before we get sucked into the blast,” Andy joked quietly before he jerked his head towards the patio door. “Come join me outside?”

 

Without question, Eugene followed after Andy; in all the chaos, no one seemed to notice them leaving. With the French doors closed behind him, the ruckus from inside turned muted, they were far enough away from the city center that the usual noises that sounded Eugene while outside were gone: it was peaceful.

 

Following Andy’s lead, Eugene sat down on one of the cushioned lawn chairs set up on the deck.

 

“Sorry if they’re a bit dusty,” Andy apologized as he swiped a finger down the painted arm of the chair. “We didn’t have as much time to clean up as we thought.”

 

“It’s really okay,” Eugene said, smiling. “We don’t mind. You don’t have to impress us. You did enough of that overseas.”

 

“You boys were always the ones to impress me,” he said softly, eyes focused on Eugene, which made him feel as if he had a spotlight shining on him; Eugene turned away and took a sip of his drink.

 

“In my defense, this is a lot of house to clean in a couple of hours,” Andy spoke up, returning to their previous line of conversation. “It’s amazing the kind of dust that builds up over a year.”

 

“Well maybe you should come up more often,” Eugene suggested. “Less time in between for the dust to settle.”

 

“Trust me, I’ve tried,” Andy said with a laugh. “But it’s hard to force Eddie Jones to do anything he doesn’t want to do.”

 

“He’s still so resolute to stay in Maryland? I moved from Alabama to Boston and I survived the cold. He can too,” Eugene teased.

 

“It’s not that,” Andy said, “Although, no matter what he claims, it is definitely a factor. No, he’s just worried about his mother.”

 

“She alright?”

 

“Oh, yes, she’s perfectly fine,” Andy answered. “She’s still getting around just fine. Eddie just can’t help but worry. He’s always had such an important caretaker role in his family, I know it’s hard for him to stop. And in his defense, his mom _is_ getting up there and accidents could go bad at that age. But Eddie still has a couple siblings in the area who can check in on her, it’s not like she’d be totally alone. But they keep butting heads thought because he wants her settled somewhere lower maintenance and she keeps claiming she’s fine where she is. She’s told him multiple times now to go move up here but he won’t budge.”

 

“Maybe one of these days you’ll wear him down,” Eugene offered.

 

“Could still be a while yet, Eugene,” Andy sighed. “But maybe with all of you up here now he’ll be more willing to consider moving up here. But enough about Eddie, how are you?”

 

“I’m alright,” Eugene answered. “Shops doing fine. We’ve actually been getting more clientele lately; I think it might actually be because the tattoo parlor opened up. I guess we should be a little grateful to them for that…”

 

“That’s great to hear, really,” he said gently. “But I’m not asking about how your shop is, Eugene, I’m asking about _you_. Honestly, how are you?”

 

Eugene bit back the urge to answer with his rehearsed “I’m fine” and instead paused and pondered the question. How was he?

 

There was no point in lying to Andy; Andy knew almost as much about his struggles as his own father. Staring down at the contents of his glass for a moment, Eugene thought about himself, truly assessed himself, before he answered.

 

“I’m still not sleeping well,” Eugene admitted quietly while he rubbed the condensation that had formed on the side of his glass off with his thumb. “Sleeping less now than I already was because of this damn heatwave.”

 

“Thought you had a little AC unit at your place?” Andy asked gently.

 

“I do but, it’s expensive to run and I budgeted to put it in soon but not _this_ soon…” Eugene trailed off.

 

“Well whatever the extra cost is for the AC on your electric bill, let me know. I’ll cover it for you,” Andy decided.

 

“Andy-”

 

“No buts. My gift to you. And Bill,” Andy said firmly before he took a sip of his own drink and threw his arm casually across the back of the empty chair next to him. “We’ll have Eddie help put it in tomorrow.”

 

“Making Eddie do the grunt work,” Eugene said with a shake of his head.

 

“You know he’d offer to do it if I tried to do it myself. I’m just cutting out the middle man,” Andy said with an easy smile before he turned back to look at Eugene with a softer expression. “Go on. What else is going on with you?”

 

The momentary lightness Eugene enjoyed slipped away as he returned to thinking about himself and his problems.

 

“My nightmares…flashbacks, whatever you wanna call them, they’re still pretty bad. Well, they’re not bad all the time,” Eugene amended. “Some nights aren’t that bad, might just get shaken up for a bit and then I might be able to get back to sleep for a little but other nights…”

 

Feeling uneasy and bordering on upset, Eugene took a long sip from his drink. When he finally moved the glass away from his face, he stayed silent, hoping for Andy to say something so he didn’t have to continue.

 

“Anything else?” Andy asked, voice level and kind; it calmed Eugene just as much as it had back in the middle of the desert. “Are you eating?”

 

“Yeah, I guess,” Eugene responded, feeling almost defeated. “Bill makes sure I’m eating.”

 

“I knew there was a reason you kept him around,” Andy joked, voice light; Eugene managed to crack a smile at that. “You’re still not taking anything, right?” he asked after another brief pause. “Medications?”

 

“No,” he answered softly as he turned his head back up to look at the beautiful night sky.

 

“And you haven’t seen a psychiatrist around here either, have you?”

 

“No,” Eugene responded, keeping his eyes focused on the sky so that he could avoid the look of disappointment he was sure was forming on Andy’s face.

 

“I have names of psychiatrists I could suggest in the area-”

 

“I know,” Eugene snapped before he turned to look at Andy, feeling remorseful. “I’m sorry. I-”

 

Whatever words Eugene was going say stopped when Andy raised a hand, gentle smile and warm look in his eyes still present.

 

“It’s okay,” Andy he said sincerely before he made a small motion with his hand, indicating Eugene to continue.

 

Eugene let out a rough sigh before he took another sip of his drink, feeling almost guilty over Andy’s gentle understanding; he didn’t deserve that.

 

“It’s just that… I just don’t think I’m ready for that again,” Eugene admitted. “I don’t think it’d go any better this time around, Andy.”

 

“Why do you say that?”

 

“I just don’t think it would go any differently,” he said tiredly, feeling exhaustion fill him instead of the anger that was usually present when he thought about these things. “I’d still be sitting there, talking to some shrink who doesn’t get it, who's never been through what I’ve been through. They’d just sit there with their clip board while they listened to my life story… they’d be the same… and so would I.”

 

“What do you mean by that? That you’d be the same?”

 

“I don’t think I’m any different than I was,” Eugene admitted while he felt something unleash inside of him; next thing he knew, words were tumbling out of his mouth before he could try to stop them. “I don’t think anything’s changed… I’m still bad. I’m still not sleeping and when I do I have nightmares and I’m still bad at talking to my family- about _anything_ – even though I’d _love_ to be able to just sit down and have a normal fucking conversation with them and I’m still just so angry all the time and I don’t know how to fix it.”

 

Eugene sat back in his seat, breathing as if he had just run up a flight of stairs, and stayed silent until his breathing returned to normal.

 

“If I tried to go back to therapy, I’d just quit like last time. I’m no different.”

 

Eugene finally turned to look at Andy once again. He expected to see a look of sympathy or that gentle smile on Andy’s face but was surprised when Eugene found a look of confusion.

 

“Eugene, you’re wrong,” Andy declared softly.

 

“What?”

 

“You claim you’re the same person you were years ago? Bullshit,” Andy said bluntly. “You may not be able to see it yourself, your everyday changes and improvements, no matter how seemingly miniscule, but I can. One benefit of me being gone for so long is that I can see how all of those incremental changes add up,” Andy said wisely. “And from what I’m seeing, you’re a different person, Eugene. A better one. You’ve moved away from home, live on your own dime, _you run your own business._ That kid who came home years ago couldn’t have done all this, not like you’re doing now. Truth be told, Eugene, you even look healthier than you did last time I saw you. Sure you may not be one-hundred-percent, but you’re better than you were. Don’t sell yourself short. You’re capable of a lot of things and I think you’re much stronger than you think you are. If you wanted to give therapy and all that another go, I think it’d be different than last time, honestly.”

 

“Thanks, Andy,” Eugene muttered, feeling a little surprised by Andy’s assurances.

 

“I understand your hesitance about therapy though, Eugene,” he said, returning to the softer tone he used earlier. “I understand not wanting to talk to people you don’t trust or who you feel won’t understand, it’s a completely reasonable feeling to have. However, I really do think that you would benefit if you talked to someone.”

 

“Any of those therapists on your list vets?” Eugene asked glumly.

 

“Unfortunately, no. I know of some but not anywhere near here,” Andy said, regrettably. “But, you are in a very unique position.”

 

“How so?”

 

“You’re surrounded _every day_ by guys who know _exactly_ what you’ve been through,” he answered. “And I’m sure they’d be happy to hear you out if you needed an ear. So if you still feel uncomfortable with a therapist, I understand, but it never helps a situation to keep your thoughts and feelings bottled up. So talk to Bill or Jay or hell, call _me._ You know you can always call me or Eddie, right?”

 

“I know, Andy,” Eugene said with a nod, feeling something squeeze in his chest when he saw the earnest concern in Andy’s eyes. “I appreciate it.”

 

“Good. Now, if you’re feeling up to it, I was thinking about seeing if Eddie’d be ready to finally get his butt kicked in a round of pool,” Andy said with a smirk. “Sound good to you?”

 

“Yeah, Andy, sounds good to me,” Eugene said with a nod and a small smile.

 

“Alright then,” Andy said as he got up from his seat. Eugene followed his lead. Andy reached out and gave Eugene a quick but supportive slap on the back. “Let’s get in there.”

 

Slowly but surely the night began to wind down. After a final game of pool- in which Andy just narrowly managed to beat Eddie, although Andy continued to claim that Eddie let him win -everyone settled in to watch Independence Day together, a movie everyone could agree on watching. Just after Captain Steven Hillar arrived at Area 51, Andy started nodding off, which prompted Eddie to drag Andy off to bed with only a couple grumbled complaints from the man. Not too long after and Flo was quietly snoring on Burgie’s shoulder.

 

“Well I guess we'll call it a night then,” Burgie said with a smile as he got up from the couch and did his best to lift his wife into his arms with as little jousting as possible.

 

“Night,” Jay yawned as wrapped the throw blanket he had procured tighter around him.

 

“Getting sleepy there, Jay?” Snafu asked from where he lay on the carpeted floor.

 

“Maybe. You gonna draw a dick on my face when I fall asleep?” Jay asked, sounding untroubled as he closed his eyes.

 

“Well I don’t have a marker on me but I’m sure Ack Ack got one in this big ole house of his.”

 

“You wouldn’t fuckin’ dare,” Jay said, voice slurring slightly with sleep. “Do it and I’ll bleach your hair again.”

 

_“Again?_ ” Bill asked with a snort. “You got pictures, Jay?”

 

“Mmhhmm. Show you later. Hair went as red as Sledge’s. Fucking great.”

 

Feeling comforted by the sound of Bill chuckles and Snafu’s grumbled response, Eugene followed Jay’s lead and made himself as comfortable as possible on the couch. He knew there were plenty of guest rooms he could go sleep in but he preferred it here, surrounded by others. Feeling himself begin to nod off, he decided to give into the feeling, and closed his eyes. He was just about to fall asleep when he heard the distinct sound of Bill’s snores rip through the living room. Cracking an eye, Eugene spotted Bill, passed out on the recliner, snoring like a chainsaw.

 

“Oh my god, shut the fuck up, Leyden!” Snafu growled sleepily from where he lay on the floor. “Some people tryna sleep here!”

 

“Shut up, Snafu, you snore as badly as he does,” Jay countered through a heavy yawn.

 

“Do not.”

 

“Oh really? Then what’s that noise I hear every night in the apartment?”

 

“It’s Leyden. He snores so loud you hear him through the walls, Jay.”

 

“Uh huh, sure. And what about when we were in Texas? Gonna blame that on Leyden too?”

 

“Yeah. Boy’s so loud you hear him coast to coast.”

 

Chuckling quietly, Eugene shut his eyes again and allowed himself to be gently sent to sleep, the sounds of Bill’s snores mixed in with the soft sounds of the television helping to lull him to sleep.

*        *        *

The next morning, when Eugene awoke, it was not because of some nightmare forcing him awake or because of the piercing sound of his alarm clock. No, instead it was simply because of the bright morning light that shone through the glass of the French doors of Andy’s family room. Blinking sleepily at the light, Eugene pushed himself up onto his elbows and stared around the room, feeling an almost confusing heaviness in his whole body.

 

Jay was sound asleep on the other couch, wrapped up as tight as possible in his throw blanket. Bill was lying flat on his back on the recliner, mouth still thrown open while a steady stream of snores came out of him. Snafu was curled up on his side on the floor, snoring quietly under a blanket someone had seemingly thrown on top of him during the night. Being surrounded by them all reminded Eugene of the good times he had while in the Corps, all the downtime spent around his brothers.

 

Smiling slightly at the sight before him, Eugene stretched his limbs, wincing slightly when he heard and felt multiple pops and cracks; maybe he should have taken up a guest bed after all. Collapsing back onto the couch, Eugene registered the heaviness still felt throughout his body; it took him a moment to place the sensation before he realized that this is what it felt like to get a full night of restful sleep. Feeling doubtful, Eugene checked the time on his watch and saw to his surprise that it was half past nine in the morning. He couldn't remember waking up once, couldn't remember a bad dream or thought, didn't even remember the grey haze that filled his mind on the rare nights when he was untroubled by specific nightmares.

 

“You awake?”

 

Eugene pushed himself back up on his elbows and found Andy standing a few feet behind the couch, dressed in a faded and slightly tattered Red Sox T-shirt and a pair of jeans, looking a little tired with his ruffled hair and the light stubble on his jaw.

 

“Yeah,” Eugene answered, voice rough with sleep.

 

“I was gonna drive these two back so Burgie could open the shop,” Andy said as he jerked his head back behind him; Eugene noticed Flo and Burgie standing in the kitchen, looking very much as if they had just rolled out of bed. “First we were gonna go grab some breakfast at a diner I know. Figured I’d see if you wanted to come along.”

 

“Yeah,” Eugene said with a nod as he pushed himself into a fully upright position.  “That sounds good.”

 

Joining Burgie and Flo in the kitchen, Eugene was slightly taken aback by Flo’s appearance. She was still dressed in her dress from the night before but with the addition of an oversized flannel thrown on top and instead of her heels, Eugene realized she was wearing what appeared to be Burgie’s shoes. Looking at Burgie for conformation, he saw Burgie wearing slightly dusty flip-flops, most likely something that was found in the confines of Andy’s enormous home. Honestly, Flo’s outfit wasn’t what really surprised Eugene; it was more the fact that her face was drawn into a slight frown and her eyes, which were usually filled with a mischievous sparkle, looked dull. With her head resting on Burgie’s shoulder for support, she looked weak, sick even.

 

“You okay?” Eugene asked, concerned.

 

“’m fine,” Flo grumbled, not moving her head off of Burgie’s shoulder.

 

“Not exactly a morning person, are you honey?” Burgie said with a grin.

 

“Just need some coffee,” Flo insisted with an annoyed huff.

 

“Never seen you so quiet,” Eugene teased, which earned him a sleepy-eyed glare.

 

“I’d be careful there, Sledge,” Eddie warned as he walked into the kitchen, fully dressed and looking the most awake out of any of them. “She may be docile while fully awake but in this state she may lash out and attack if provoked.”

 

“Fuck off, Ed,” she grunted while the others laughed.

 

“Care to join us for breakfast?” Andy asked Eddie. “I’m sure there's plenty of time before any of them wake up.”

 

“I'll have to pass,” Eddie said regrettably. “Someone ought to be here when they wake. Make sure they get fed before they tear through the house looking for leftovers.”

 

“Alright,” Andy said before he took a step forward and pressed a quick kiss to the stubble on Eddie's cheek. “Let me know when they're ready to come back. Well come get you.”

 

“Will do,” Eddie said with a soft smile. “You just take care of Jolene.”

 

“I wouldn't dare get a single mark on her,” Andy before he pocketed the car keys which sat on the kitchen counter and turned to face the others. “Alright. Let's move out.”

 

After loading up in Eddie’s beloved car, they headed to a diner located in the center of town. A cup of coffee and half a plate of breakfast later and Flo was beginning to seem like her usual self, cracking jokes and laughing loudly as Burgie recounted a tale from the night before.

 

It was nice being surrounded by all of them. Eugene just wished, as the loaded back into the car to drop Flo off at her and Burgie’s apartment, that things could be like this more often.

 

_We’ll have the week at least_ , Eugene reminded himself as they drove through the congested streets of the city.

 

Back at the shops, Andy parked Eddie’s beloved car in the safety of the small back parking area provided next to Bill’s rusted truck. As Eugene climbed out of the passenger's seat, he noticed Andy pull out his phone and check it.

 

“Any news?” Eugene asked.

 

“Nope,” Andy answered simply before he returned his phone to his pants pocket. “Mind if I hang out around here for a bit.”

 

“Not at all,” Eugene smiled. “Maybe if those guys stay in their comas we'll have time to look at some options for you.”

 

“Wouldn't surprise me if I didn't get a call for some time,” he said as he followed Eugene into the shop from the back entrance. “As I remember it, all three of them, given the chance, would happily sleep the day away.”

 

As predicted, Eddie did not contact Andy until almost midday. In the time it took for the others to wake up and agree to come back to the shops to start working, Andy helped Eugene to set up the shop, Flo returned to the parlor, looking her usual bright and put together self again, and Eugene managed to sell Andy on some simple daffodils and Black Eyed Susan’s he had in stock to fill up part of his backyard.

 

Once Andy returned with Eddie and the rest in tow, looking a bit like a clown car with all of them piled into the Mustang, the peace that had permitted the morning disappeared in a chorus of shouts and swears as everyone returned, fully rested and already annoyed after, according to Eddie, a morning spent bickering like children.

 

It was odd to be surrounded by such noise and activity after so much time of it just being him and Bill. Odd, but Eugene didn’t necessarily dislike it. In fact, it was something that he could definitely get used to.

 

The rest of the week passed by with no major incident. Eugene spent his mornings manning the shop and his evenings at Andy’s helping him get the house into something he would be proud to call home. The rest of them shared a similar schedule, splitting time between the shops and Andy’s, so there were always people around Eugene no matter where he was- whether he was working with Bill at the shop, riding the T with Flo to the suburbs after his shift, shooting the shit with the guys on the balcony, eating pizza and drinking beers in the dying light of the day, or breaking a sweat digging up Andy’s backyard while Jay and Burgie worked away inside, stripping away ancient wallpaper.

 

There was a lightness that filled Eugene throughout the week, a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on. He thought perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was sleeping decently for once, something that was shocking enough but Eugene chalked it up to the fact that now that it wasn't a thousand degrees inside his apartment and he was working himself twice as hard helping Andy out that he could get through a night.

 

It wasn't until he neared the end of the week when he realized what the lightness might actually be attributed to. As Eugene took a break from tearing up Andy’s backyard one late afternoon, covered in sweat and dirt, enjoying a glass of iced tea as he watched Snafu, Flo, Eddie shooting the shit on the patio while Andy and Burgie worked away on the other side of the yard, that he could peg the feeling inside of him.

 

He was happy. For once in a very long time, he was honest to God, genuinely happy. Staring around at his friends, his family, Eugene had little wonder as to why he felt this way.

*        *        *

Friday early afternoon found Eugene watering the front displays outside the shop while he tried to fight off the bout of melancholy that hit him earlier that day, ruining what had been a completely enjoyable week.

 

Tomorrow would be Andy and Eddie’s last full day in town; they were set to leave early Sunday morning so that they could be back home in time for work Monday morning. There were plans for another group dinner at Andy’s tomorrow night- this time something a little more laid back, Eddie mentioned something about possibly doing a barbeque -but the fact that their time together was quickly dwindling away did not escape Eugene’s mind.

 

Movement in the corner of his eye broke him out of this line of thought. When he turned he found Flo walking down the street, arms laden with numerous Styrofoam take out containers.

 

“Hey, Gene,” she said once she got closer.

 

“What’ve you got there?” Eugene asked, curiously.

 

“Lunch orders. Wouldn’t have volunteered to pick them up if I knew they all ordered a full course meal.”

 

“Here, let me help you with those,” Eugene offered, setting down his hose so that he could unburden her         some.

 

“Always a gentleman, Gene, what would I do without you,” Flo said sweetly before she shouldered open the parlor door and entered. “Clearly Gene here is the only person with manners.”

 

“Me and Hillbilly’re busy,” Snafu remarked lazily from where he leaned against the counter. “And don’t bring that shit in here, Flo. It’s unsanitary. ‘m tryna run a clean business here.”

 

“I carried it all the way here _, you_ can carry it upstairs,” Flo responded simply as she set the boxes down on the corner of the counter.

 

“I’ll run it upstairs,” Burgie decided before Snafu could snap back.

 

“Thanks, babe,” Flo said with a sweet smile as she handed the containers to him.

 

“Need a hand?” Eugene asked.

 

“Nah, I got it. Just set them on top.”

 

“So what’s going on over here?” Eugene asked the room at large as Burgie disappeared out the back.

 

“Taking Snafu up on his offer,” Eddie answer. “Figured I oughta see if all his talk is for real.”

 

“You really wanna be talking shit when you about to be at my mercy?” Snafu asked with raised brow, causing Eddie to laugh.

 

“What about you, Eugene?” Andy asked from where he stood next to Eddie. “What’re you up to right now.”

 

“Was about to go on lunch. Shops pretty slow right now.”

 

“Hang out here then,” Flo decided. “We ordered enough food for a dozen people. You can watch Ed get inked.”

 

“Um, sure,” Eugene shrugged, before he turned to look at Eddie and Snafu. “I mean, as long as you guys don’t mind?”

 

“I’m fine with it,” Eddie shrugged.

 

“Don’t matter to me,” Snafu said, eyes locking onto Eugene with his usual uncomfortable intensity before his face split into a wide smirk. “You do like to watch after all.”

 

Eugene felt heat rush to his face but was saved from having to come up with a comeback or an explanation to the others when Andy spoke up.

 

“So, have you decided what you're getting?” Andy asked Eddie.

 

Eddie turned and smiled at Andy for a moment before he responded, “I don't know. You tell me.”

 

“What?” Andy said, taken aback.

 

“You pick,” Eddie said simply, seemingly perfectly at ease.

 

Still looking a little shocked, Andy turned to look at Snafu, perhaps in the hopes of finding a similar confused person, when all he found was Snafu grinning from ear to hear at him.

 

“Come on back, Ack Ack, so we can do this consultation shit away from all this riff-raff,” Snafu said happily as he lifted the part of the counter which worked as a hinge to allow people into the back.

 

“Wait, did you guys plan this?” Andy asked as he gave Eddie an annoyed look.

 

“Only about ten minutes ago,” Eddie answered honestly. “My original plan was to just let Snafu have his fun and do whatever he wanted but then we thought of this.”

 

“Which honestly is a much better idea,” Jay spoke up. “When you let Snafu loose with a tattoo gun you tend to end up with some weird shit on your body.”

 

“What do you have that’s weird?” Eugene asked as he glanced at the few visible tattoos on Jay’s arms and noted that none of them seemed out of the ordinary.

 

“You aren’t gonna see that tattoo until we are _much_ better friends, Sledge,” Jay said seriously.

 

“Cus it’s on your ass or because you hate the tattoo?” Flo asked with a smirk.

 

“Both,” Jay responded flatly while the others laughed.

 

“You let Snafu tattoo your _ass?_ ” Eugene asked slowly.

 

“I wasn’t gonna let him get a freebie somewhere the whole world would see.”

 

“Suppose that makes sense.”

 

“Alright, enough stallin’,” Snafu declared loudly. “Ack Ack, you coming with me. Don’t make me force you.”

 

“Are you sure you want me to do this?” Andy asked Eddie softly.

 

“Andy, I trust you with my life. I'm sure I can trust you with a tattoo,” Eddie said sincerely. “I'm sure whatever you pick won't be bad.”

 

“Even if it's something stupid at least it'll look good,” Snafu pointed out. “Come on Ack Ack. Times a-wasting. We ain't got all day. I got other clients besides Hillbilly here I gotta take care of.”

 

With one last uneasy look, Andy followed Snafu past the counter and into the back.

 

“You’re really gonna let Andy pick your tattoo?” Eugene asked, amused.

 

“Why not?” Eddie shrugged, completely untroubled.

 

“Aww, that's true love,” Flo said sweetly before a startled look came across her face and she turned to look at Burgie as he reentered the building, scandalized. “Rom! Why haven’t we picked surprise tattoos for each other before?! What's wrong with us?!”

 

“Yeah Burg,” Jay said in a fake scandalized voice. “Thought you guys were the epitome of love? What gives?”

 

“I mean, we tattooed wedding rings on each other. Isn't that romantic enough?” Burgie said to Jay while Eddie and Eugene snickered in the background. “But I mean yeah, babe, we can pick each other's tattoos if you want. I still have bare skin left.”

 

While they all waited for Andy and Snafu to return, Eugene busied himself with looking around the shop. In the month that the shop had been open, Eugene had yet to step foot in the parlor. The place was decorated in an odd assortment of decorations that probably wouldn’t have made sense to the casual customer- the Texas flag hanging up proudly on the wall, a poster for something called the Melbourne Storm, water color paintings, a 3rd Battalion 5th Marines insignia -but knowing the people who worked and lived there brought a slight smile to Eugene’s face.

 

“Alright, Hillbilly,” Snafu said as he came back into the main part of the shop, Andy following behind him. “Time has come. Now let’s get you into a chair.”

 

“Do you wanna look at it at all before you really do this?” Andy asked as Eddie did as instructed and got into the nearest chair.

 

“No,” Eddie answered.

 

“Any say on the placement?” Andy asked, his tone edging towards exasperated, clearly not expecting him to say yes.

 

“I trust your judgment,” Eddie said as he settled in.

 

“I was thinking inside of your forearm,” Snafu suggested. “Think it’ll fit well there.”

 

“You’re the professional here, kid.”

 

There were a couple minutes of near silence while Snafu applied the transfer paper and made a slight correction or two to the design before he brought out the gun and got to work. As Snafu started on the tattoo, Eugene couldn’t help but notice a change in the man, almost a complete transformation. There was a focus in Snafu that Eugene had never seen before, very different than the dead-eyed intensity he usually exuded, and a cloud of professionalism as he quietly conversed with Eddie throughout the whole process. There was an ease, even an elegance about his movements. It surprised Eugene.

 

Now Eugene wasn’t exactly a professional on the whole tattooing process- having only gotten one tattoo and had been present when Bill got his -but he had to wonder if a lot of artists looked like Snafu did when they worked or if this was some special case. He tried to think back to the person who tattooed him but no matter how hard he wracked his brain he couldn’t come up with anything remarkable. Maybe it was the change in perspective, maybe it was because Snafu was tattooing someone he cared about instead of some stranger.

 

 Maybe it was just Snafu.

 

“There she is,” Snafu declared as he pulled away from Eddie, the gun in hand now silent. “Wanna sneak a peek now, Hillbilly?”

 

“Why not?”

 

It wasn’t anything fancy or intricate, just a simply drawn black compass placed on the inside of his forearm, but it definitely suited him, something Eddie seemed to agree with based on the positive response he got when he first eyed it.

 

“Looks pretty good, right?” Snafu asked as he removed the gloves from his hand, looking mildly impressed with himself.

 

“I’d say so,” Eddie nodded.

 

“Told Ack Ack he should draw it,” Snafu said with a grin. “Make it more special. But he didn’t wanna.”

 

“Sorry if I wanted to make sure it looked good and not like it was drawn by a child,” Andy said flatly.

 

After everyone got a proper look at the tattoo and Snafu listed off the necessary care that Eddie needed to follow, Flo whisked Eugene away to the back so they could go eat lunch up on the balcony with Andy, Eddie, and Jay.

 

While everyone ate, chatted about possible tattoos they wanted in the future, and teased Andy for his complete lack of tattoos, Eugene stayed quiet while his mind stayed transfixed on what he had witnessed in the parlor. He couldn't understand what exactly about it stuck with him so much, why he couldn't keep his mind off of it.

 

As Eugene looked around at these people -who despite the short time he had known some of them -he felt he had a pretty good read on who all of them were. Snafu, however, Eugene had thought he knew who that guy was: a crazy ex-marine who went along for the ride with his friends because he had nothing else going for him. Now however, Eugene was stuck. Between what Flo had told him and what he just witnessed in the parlor, the image Eugene had started to form in his mind was shattered. Eugene realized that there was certainly more to Snafu Shelton than met the eye.

 

Eugene wondered what else hid beneath the surface of his strange neighbor that he had yet to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed the chapter and hopefully i can update sooner than this next time <3
> 
> thanks for reading :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eugene receives an unwanted phone call and an unexpected business opportunity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry guys for the lack of updates but I appreciate all of you who are still hanging on. Working 50 hours a week really does not help my writing inspo but thankfully over this break I've managed to break through my massive writers block. 
> 
> thanks to all those who sent me a review last chapter, i really, really appreciate a review, no matter how long or short ❤️
> 
> and as always, big shout out to may for editing my chapter!

*           *           *

  _One moment there had been the constant, dry heat of the desert pressing slowly cooking his face, the next it was replaced by the strangling heat of uncontrollable flames._

 

_Black smoke choked him. Painful coughs racked his body and it hurt to breathe, let alone speak, but he had to. He had to let Oswalt know he was alright, needed to hear a response from Oswalt…_

 

_“Os-Oswalt!” Eugene coughed. The smoke burned his throat and made him wheeze, made him panic. “Oswalt!”_

 

_The heat was too intense, more intense than the desert sun ever dared to be. He didn’t know how much more he could stand of it. How easy would it be for him to stop fighting, stop yelling, and just let it take him._

 

_“Oswalt!”_

 

_Panic grew so intensely in his chest from Oswalt’s silence that if felt as if something was crushing him, or maybe something, some debris was actually crushing him. It was hard to tell._

 

_Why wouldn’t he answer him? Eugene strained his ears, desperate to hear anything, a cough, a wheeze, the sound of another person breathing beside him…_

 

“Oswalt!” Eugene cried as he jolted, disorientated, into an upright position.

 

His heart hammered against the inside of his ribs and his chest heaved as if he had just been running for his life. As his mind began to clear from the fog of the nightmare, he became keenly aware of the fact that he was absolutely soaked and his throat was scratchy and sore, proof that he had been screaming in the midst of his nightmare.

 

The sound of creaking floorboards made Eugene jump and force his already pounding heart to beat faster. It took a painful moment or two for Eugene to connect the dots, not until he heard the creaks continue quietly down the hall: Bill.

 

A defeated sort of feeling filled Eugene as he realized that he had been yelling so loudly that he managed to shake Bill from his deep slumber, which was no easy feat.

 

_Not again_ , Eugene thought miserably as he pulled his knees tight to his chest and folded himself in two while his mind continued to spin uncomfortably.

 

Tonight was the third night this week that he had had such violent nightmares that he managed to wake Bill and worry him enough to make him get up from bed; embarrassment swirled around with the hurricane of emotions already storming inside of his body.

 

Knowing that Bill had returned to his own room, Eugene got up on pitifully shaky legs, grabbed his pipe box, and headed out to the balcony. The temperature was finally starting to cool down some but it was still disgustingly humid outside which made sitting out on the couch still rather uncomfortable. However, Eugene wasn’t in the best state of mind so the sensation of sweat rolling down his back, adding more to his already sweat-soaked t-shirt, or feeling as if he was breathing in water didn’t exactly register in his brain. All that mattered to Eugene in the moment was focusing on getting his pipe ready and trying desperately to quiet the sights and sounds echoing inside his head.

 

Eugene inhaled deeply from his pipe and sighed gratefully when he felt the nicotine working away at his raw nerves. After a few more deep inhalations, Eugene was able to pull himself away from his pipe.

 

Bracing his elbows on top of his knees, burying his fingers so deeply into his hair that he was sure that if he had been in a better state, he would feel pain, Eugene stared at the dark, dirty concrete of the balcony and slowly waited for the panic that ate away at him in his nightmares to dissipate.

 

It had been four days since Andy and Eddie rolled out of town and it had been four days since Eugene experienced anything close to a decent night’s sleep. Whether it was the calming effect the older men had on Eugene or the fact that he worked himself to near exhaustion almost every day helping Andy renovate his home or a combination of the two, something allowed him a week of temporary respite from his usual nightmares and sleepless nights.

 

Now however, he had promptly returned to his regular schedule of reliving his most painful memories and experiencing twisted what-if scenarios, both of which sent him into a sharp downward spiral which took hours for him to climb out of.

 

He knew that some might think that gaining a weeks’ worth of rest was a good thing- for a while there Eugene agreed with that statement -but now that Eugene stood on the other end, the return of his nightmares felt somehow worse than they had before. After that temporary break, each nightmare left him feeling raw, on edge, and had him reeling for longer than his nightmares had before. It made Eugene feel like how he did when he first came back home and the nightmares hit him for the first time.

 

As Eugene felt himself slowly returning to reality, he couldn’t help but remember how Andy had pulled him aside on that last day in town to talk to him briefly one-on-one.

 

_“Eugene,” Andy said, hand resting warm and supportively on top of Eugene’s shoulder, “before I leave, I just wanted to remind you of what we talked about.”_

 

_Eugene nodded, not knowing exactly where Andy was going with this._

 

_“About you possibly returning to therapy,” Andy clarified._

 

_“Oh.”_

 

_“Yeah,” Andy said with a slight nod before he looked Eugene in the eyes, which gave Eugene a calming effect like no other. “I just wondered if you had given it any thought since I mentioned it to you.”_

 

_“Not really,” Eugene admitted with a bit of a grimace. “I just… I don’t know, Andy.”_

 

_“Well, think about it,” Andy said kindly. “And remember what I said: you can start out small. You don’t have to dive right back into the deep end. Start by talking to someone you already trust and know would understand, like Bill or me. I really think you’d benefit from it. I know I did when I came back.”_

 

_Eugene nodded again, knowing Andy was just trying to help him._

 

_“And… I know you said you didn’t think you were up for it, but I think if you really gave it another go, you’d surprise yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to, Eugene.”_

 

_“Thanks, Andy,” Eugene said._

 

_“Really though,” Andy insisted when Eugene’s voice betrayed the confidence Andy showed in him. “Look at everything you’ve done: getting through the Marines, setting up your own business. You prove time and time again that when you really focus on something, you always meet your goal, no matter the odds. I don’t see why this time would be any different.”_

 

Eugene remembered how in that moment, he believed Andy and his words. He remembered how for the rest of the day he had toyed with the idea of it all, went through the logistics of it, how he should probably start small like Andy suggested and start with simply reaching out to Bill. He remembered how he thought about how Bill might benefit from talking as well and perhaps they could both returned to therapy and how stupidly hopeful he started to feel by the time he went to bed that night.

 

All of those warm, hopeful emotions went crashing down so violently that first night that it completely shook any newly forming confidence Eugene had in himself. Now after three nights of next to no sleep and intense nightmares, Eugene was left feeling defeated.

 

How stupid was he to believe Andy’s kind words? How could he suddenly think that he could do it, get better?

 

Anger surged within him and combined with the other hurricane of other emotions that twisted painfully around inside of him and forced him to lash out, breaking him temporarily out of his spell. Eugene felt his arm reaching out into the darkness and his hand latching onto something hard.  The next thing he knew he heard the loud and distinct sound of glass shattering on the concrete of the balcony.

 

Oddly enough, the sound of shattering glass didn’t shock Eugene but the much softer sound of a tin can tipping onto its side, followed by a low human voice swearing under its breath, was enough to send Eugene upwards and on alert. Eyes wide with heart pounding in his chest, Eugene scanned the dark balcony before he turned and locked eyes with the dark figure standing on the other side of the balcony.

 

It took Eugene’s frazzled mind a few moments to piece together the scene before him but after taking in the beer bottles, the half empty pack of smokes, the knocked over coffee can on the balcony- which now spread numerous cigarette buds and ash around -Eugene understood.

 

This wasn’t the first time he and Snafu had crossed paths- because his nightmares seemed to sync up perfectly with Snafu’s nicotine cravings -but every late-night encounter between them ended so differently Eugene felt his defenses rise while he waited for whatever incarnation of Snafu he was in for tonight.

 

Eugene waited for a Cheshire cat grin or a barely contained snarl, for flat angry words or oddly comforting and understanding comments. None of those things came his way, however. Instead, Snafu stayed silent with his eyes locked on Eugene and enjoyed one last puff of his cigarette before he flicked it over the edge of the balcony and slipped back inside of his own apartment without a word.

 

He supposed he should be thankful that for once Snafu wasn’t interested in pushing any of his buttons but the complete silence threw him for a loop. Turning his back on his neighbor’s door, Eugene blinked and stared at the mess on his half of the porch.

 

Thick shards of glass and ash littered the immediate area in front of the tattered couch; it took Eugene a moment to realize that in his brief fit of rage, he had smashed the glass ash trash they had set outside. Dull embarrassment and shame over his outburst broke through to the surface of Eugene tired mind.

 

He knew he should go into the kitchen and grab the broom to sweep up the mess before he or Bill hurt themselves but all Eugene could find the energy to do in that moment was to collapse back onto the couch and continue to stare at the softly glittering shards until his vision went out of focus.

 

The next several hours passed by in a haze for Eugene. Soft morning light returned to chase away the night and slowly but surely the city woke up around Eugene, yet he barely moved. The storm of emotions within him had long since evaporated but in its place he was filled with an almost paralyzing numbness.

 

He knew he had to get up, knew the shop was due to open soon and it was up to him to get the shop ready, but for whatever reason he kept staring blankly at the balcony floor.

 

“Hey.”

 

Eugene blinked and turned towards the source of the soft, gruff voice. Bill stood in the doorway of the apartment, looking as if he had had a rough night himself but already dressed for the day, with a steaming mug of coffee in his hand.

 

“Take it,” Bill ordered as he extended the mug towards Eugene. “I would tell you to get inside and sleep it off but I know you, and you won’t, so might as well give you something to get your through the day.”

 

Eugene accepted the mug without a word. The coffee tasted closer to watery dirt than to actual coffee but it started a fire in Eugene’s chest which brought him a little bit further back into reality. He took another sip while he watched as Bill stepped out onto the balcony, mug of his own in hand, and collapsed next to Eugene on the couch. Bill set the mug down on the ground before he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pants pocket and lit one up. Bill tilted the half-empty pack of cigarettes towards Eugene; Eugene slipped one out without comment.

 

“You don’t open today,” Eugene commented quietly after Bill lit his cigarette. “What are you doing up?”

 

“Don’t ask stupid fucking questions, Gene,” Bill grunted with a shake of his head before he tapped his access ash onto the ground; he didn’t make any verbal comment on the sudden lack of ash tray, just glanced at the shards of glass littered around the balcony before he returned to his smoke.

 

Eugene glanced at Bill out of the corner of his eye and noticed the dark bruises under his eyes, his grey complexion, and the bloodshot quality of his eyes and realized with a dull pang of guilt that Bill probably hadn’t slept much these past few days either.

 

“You don’t have to open,” Eugene spoke up. “I can be down in ten minutes. Get back to sleep.”

 

“Nah, I’m already up and dressed,” Bill said before he stood up and ducked quickly back into the apartment; he reappeared a moment later with the kitchen broom and Eugene’s pair of dollar store flip flops. “Why don’t you clean up after yourself and go watch _the Price is Right_ or something. Maybe get some food in you. Got a couple bagels in the fridge still; I’m sure even you can manage the toaster.”

 

“I’ll try my best, Bill,” Eugene said flatly.

 

Bill picked his now cooled mug of coffee from off of the floor before he reached out and gently knocked the side of Eugene head with his knuckles; it somehow brought a faint smile to Eugene’s face.

 

“If you need me, you know where to find me,” Bill said in parting before he disappeared down the back stairs.

 

Knowing he had to get up sooner or later, Eugene placed the cigarette safely between his lips before he slipped on the pair of flip flops, grabbed the broom Bill had left for him, and got to work cleaning up his mess.

*           *           *

He could have probably nodded off for a bit if he tried but Eugene didn’t want to risk the chance of him falling into another nightmare spiral so instead he kept himself upright and awake with a steady stream of shitty coffee and slightly stale bagels. He could have spent a longer time laying miserably around the apartment but instead he headed down to the shop earlier than needed, in case Bill needed a nap or more coffee.

 

Turning the corner, Eugene couldn’t help but pause briefly when he saw Snafu sitting out front of the parlor, smoking like a chimney. Before Eugene could disappear into the shop, Snafu’s pale eyes locked on him and Eugene waited once again to see which Snafu he’d get this morning.

 

Just like hours previously, there were no words, no smart remarks or uncomfortable smirks from Snafu, just an unreadable expression and slight nod of the head. Feeling somehow more shaken from the lack of attention from the man, Eugene shuffled into the shop, feeling completely unprepared to face the day ahead of him.

*           *           *

The dishwater was much too hot, almost blistering, but Eugene didn’t stop to change the temperature, instead he continued with his job of cutting down the number of dirty dishes in the apartment. Bill let him off early today with the intention that perhaps Eugene might get some rest; Eugene didn’t even want to try. He knew how it’d end.

 

Last night he managed about an hour of sleep- probably due to sheer exhaustion -before his nightmares returned and kept him from another night of sleep. Eugene was sure if he did as Bill told him to and tried to sleep, he could probably get some sleep before his dark thoughts came for him, but it was decidedly not worth it. At least now he could make use of his extra free time and get some much needed work around the apartment done.

 

_Buzz… buzz…_

 

Eugene angled his neck so that he could look at where the vibrating phone laid a few feet away on the kitchen counter. He felt his stomach twist uncomfortably when he saw the name that lit up on the screen: Mom.

 

For a split-second Eugene considered ignoring it, turning the water facet back on so he could lie to himself and say he hadn’t heard it over the sound of the rushing water. However, Sidney and his father words rang through his mind, causing guilt to eat away at his already twisting stomach. He knew he didn’t have the mental or emotional energy to deal with the conversation but Eugene stopped his task and quickly wiped his wet hands off on his jeans before he picked up the phone and answered on the last ring.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Oh _! Hello_ ,” his mother’s familiar voice greeted him, the tone of surprise evident in her voice. _“Sorry, I didn’t expect you to pick up.”_

 

Eugene didn’t rise. Instead he braced himself against the kitchen counter and took his mother’s cool tone; it was the least he deserved after how long he ignored her.

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized quietly. “The shop takes a lot of my free time. I’ve been busy.”

 

It wasn’t a lie.

 

_“Hmmm_ ,” she tutted, unconvinced. “ _Yes, well, your father tells me that your shop is going quite well.”_

 

_AKA: I had to hear it from someone else because you don’t talk to me anymore._

 

“We’re doing alright,” Eugene said, keeping his tone even. “But it’s a lot of work somedays still.”

 

_“Well we don’t want you working yourself to death up there. Maybe you could take a vacation soon. Perhaps come back home.”_

 

“I’m not so sure about that,” he said uneasily, knowing in the back of his mind whatever fragile peace was holding this conversation together was about to be shaken.

 

_“And why not?”_

 

“I can’t leave Bill alone with the shop,” Eugene explained as calmly as he could manage. “That’s too much work for one person to handle, especially this time of year when our sales are up. Spring and Summer are our busiest seasons.”

 

_“Can’t you find someone to cover for you? Your father said that you’ve made some friends with your neighbors. Couldn’t you ask one of them to watch the shop while you’re gone? How hard could it be to run a register?”_

 

Eugene knew in the back of his mind that his mother didn’t mean for her words to come off as harsh as they did, but all Eugene heard was that his mother thought his job was easy, that anyone off the street could come in and do it. Eugene moved the phone away from his mouth for a moment so that he could let out a deep breath, a weak attempt at keeping him calm.

 

“They’re busy with their _own_ shop, mother. I can’t just ask them to put their own business on hold because I’m going out of town.”

 

_“It’s been so long since you’ve been back_ ,” his mother said, a hint of sadness breaking through her cool, even tone. “ _Not since Sidney’s wedding. You’ve barely seen your nephew since he’s been born. And me and your father won’t be around forever, you know.”_

 

“You aren’t going to drop dead anytime soon, mother, don’t be dramatic,” Eugene huffed with a roll of his eyes.

 

_“That’s what you say. And then one of these days you’ll get a call and it’ll be too late,_ ” his mother continued dramatically before she quickly returned to her previous train of conversation _. “Why don’t you come down for the 4 th this year?”_

 

Just the mention of the idea of Eugene returning for the 4th of July made him feel sick and uneasy. The 4th used to be a holiday he enjoyed the most- half of Mobile and most of his extended family would come to his parents’ house and enjoy a full day of food, music, and entertainment out in the summer sun -now however, it was one that he wished he could just skip over, pretend didn’t exist.

 

“I don’t think that’d be a good idea, mother,” Eugene said slowly while his mind tried to keep memories of his last 4th of July at home at bay.

 

_“Why not?”_ she asked, affronted.

 

“Did you forget the last time I was home for it?” Eugene asked with a bite in his voice.

 

“ _Oh, well, that was years ago, Eugene. Everyone has their rough patches. And you can’t just let the past control you, sometimes you’ve got to grit your teeth and move on,”_ his mother said exasperatedly. “ _So many people would love to see you and if you came down for the holiday you could see all of them at once.”_

 

“I don’t want to be swarmed with people, mother,” Eugene started coldly; he could feel his anxiety begin to rise at just the idea of all his extended relatives and Mobile locals coming at him the second he stepped foot back in town. “And, sorry, but I don’t want to _grit my teeth_ to get through a couple days back home.”

 

_“Well maybe if you came home more often less people would be desperate to see you,”_ she countered.

 

“Mom, I just… I just can’t come home right now,” he tried, forced calm in his voice beginning to crack. “The shop-”

 

_“So this shop is more important than your own family.”_

 

“No,” Eugene argued before his mouth got the better of him. “Maybe it is. You know, I’m just trying to be responsible and take care of my business so that it doesn’t fall apart.”

 

“ _Well maybe if it did you’d come home_ ,” she snapped quickly. There was a sharp, quick inhale on the other end before his mother quickly backpaddled. _“I didn’t mean that.”_

 

“Sure you did,” Eugene said quietly while he clenched his jaw. “You just didn’t mean to say it out loud.”

 

_“No.”_

 

“Yes. Listen, I know you think what I’m doing here is stupid and a waste of my time and energy-.”

 

_“I do not-.”_

 

“You don’t have to try to hide it from me, mother, I’m perfectly capable of bearing with your disappointment, I’m a grown man.”

 

“ _Hmpf. Grown man. It would be nice if you started acting like it.”_

 

“How am I not acting like a grown man?” Eugene asked, his voice rising to something of a yell. “I pay my own bills, I run my own _busines_ s, I _never_ accept any of father’s handouts! I don’t come running home just because my mother tells me to-!”

 

“ _You’re acting like a child because you ran away from home when things got difficult!”_

 

“So what if I left?” he exclaimed. “I wasn’t happy! I was fucking miserable! You want me to apologize for leaving? Sorry I found somewhere where I feel happy sometimes! Sorry I found something that gave me purpose!”

 

_“You could have found a purpose at home if you tried! But instead you decided to give up your education and chance at a better future so you could play salesman. Do you even make a profit or are you just scraping by?”_

 

“Does it matter?”

 

_“Yes of course it matters, Eugene, if your living in poverty!”_

 

“Well I’m not!” Eugene yelled.

 

It wasn’t exactly the truth.

 

_“Seriously, Eugene, I would have understood behavior like this years ago but you’re quite grown up now and frankly, despite what you think, you’re not acting like it.”_

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eugene asked, although he knew exactly where this conversation was headed.

 

_“You’re almost thirty and you have no serious career prospects, no college degrees or certificates, no marriage prospects, no plan for the future!”_

 

“I have plans for the future, mother. Just because they’re different than the ones you expected of me doesn’t mean they no longer exist!” Eugene roared. “Sorry I can’t be perfect like Ed or Sid and just get a degree and a well-paying job and a wife just because that’s what’s expected of me!”

 

_“Your brother and Sidney are not perfect, don’t be ridiculous.”_

 

“Yeah but they’re clearly miles ahead of whatever I am to you,” Eugene spat. “What do you tell your friends that I’m doing up here by the way? I doubt you’d tell them the truth when all of their sons are off starting families and raking in six figures.”

 

_“We’re not talking about my friends, Eugene, we’re talking about_ you _,_ ” she hissed. _“We’re talking about how I’m concerned about you and how you don’t seem to care about this family anymore.”_

 

“I care!”

 

_“You have an odd way of showing it!”_

 

“Despite what you believe, mother, I would love nothing more than to just be able to go home and be with you all and feel normal!” Eugene shouted. “I would love to be able to come home for the holiday and relax and have a fun time with everyone but I just can’t! Sorry if you think that means that I don’t care!”

 

_“At the very least you could call more! You could pick up your phone more than once a year! Let us all know you haven’t died somewhere! Would that be so hard?”_

 

“Yeah, it is hard, mother, especially since almost every phone call with you ends with this happy note.”

 

Before his mother could utter another word, Eugene ended the call. Letting lose a pent-up shout from his chest, Eugene tossed his phone across the apartment with little care for where it landed or if it was still in working order.

 

_Can’t call me if my phones busted._

 

Fuming, Eugene turned on his heal and stormed out of the kitchen onto the balcony, screen door rattling dangerously with the force of Eugene’s slam. Luck today was clearly not on his side because once the fog cleared from his mind, he found Flo and Jay sitting on the opposite side of the balcony, staring at him with wide eyes.

 

He assumed he would have been embarrassment, if it weren’t for the fact that the scene in front of him took him so off guard it left him confused more than anything.

 

Jay was sitting in a plastic lawn chair with a towel draped around his shoulders while Flo stood behind wearing an apron and a pair of stained yellow dish gloves. Jay’s once fading turquoise hair now was dyed a rich magenta.

 

“We can pretend we didn’t hear any of that if you want,” Flo offered calmly as she removed the stained gloves from her hand.

 

“It doesn’t fucking matter,” Eugene decided after a beat before he collapsed onto the couch.

 

“Well, how about after I rinse out Jay here, we go grab a drink or two. You defs could use one right about now. Or I could give you some highlights. I’ve got extra dye here. I think the color would work on you.”

 

“I think I’ll just take the drink, thanks.”

 

He could agree he was in a foul enough mood that a drink was much needed.

 

“Smart move, Sledge,” Jay said as he stood up from the chair. “Once you let her start she never stops. She’s been at this for years now.”

 

“Okay, well next time your hair’s fucked you can cough up the hundred bucks and get your hair done by a professional,” Flo said before she pushed Jay inside of the apartment.

 

Thankfully it only took a few minutes for Flo to finish with Jay’s hair; he felt antsy and needed to get up and move before he took out his energy in some other form. The walk to the bar was easy; Flo filled up the silence with comfortable chatter about a half a dozen different subjects while Jay occasionally interjected- neither one of them directly addressed Eugene but always left room for him to jump into the conversation if he felt up to it.

 

The bar was mercifully quiet by the time they arrived; there were a few occupied tables but there were still so few people no conversations had any reason to rise above normal speaking volume. Without a word Eugene settled for a table farthest away from the other people while Jay and Flo headed towards the bar.

 

“I don’t wanna hear any ‘no shots’ from you, Gene,” Flo declared as she set a handful of shots onto the table. Jay followed behind her balancing three beers in his hand. “You clearly’ve had a shit day and could use a boost.”

 

“Can’t argue with you there,” Eugene said as he accepted the shot.

 

“Happy Thursday,” Flo toasted as she raised her shot; Jay and Eugene followed suit.

 

“Happy Thursday,” Eugene and Jay muttered in return before they all downed their shots with varying levels of difficulty.

 

“So…that phone call…” Flo started cautiously.

 

“You know what?” Eugene decided as he took a sip of his beer. “I’ve changed my mind: can we just pretend that you guys _didn’t_ hear that after all?”

 

“No,” Flo decided brightly. “But I wasn’t planning on talking about it anyways. I just wanted to say that, because we accidentally heard something personal of yours, you should be able to hear something personal about us.”

 

“… I did not agree to this, Flo. I just agreed to the drink,” Jay said quietly, giving Flo a look, which earned him an elbow to the side.

 

“It’s only fair, Jay,” she said exasperatedly.

 

“You really don’t have to,” Eugene said with a wave of his hand. “I’m fine. You bought me a beer. We’re even.”

 

“But I don’t feel like we are!” Flo declared. “Seriously, Gene. Ask me something. You’ve got free reign- well. Okay. _Some_ restrictions apply but you’re a gentlemen so I don’t expect you to abuse the power.”

 

“Flo,” Eugene sighed.

 

“Gene,” she said firmly.

 

Eugene exchanged a quick glance with Jay- who was currently smirking into his beer -before he relented.

 

“Alright, I guess I do have a question or two I could ask.”

 

“Ask away.”

 

“How did you and Burgie meet?” Eugene asked.

 

Flo blinked.

 

“Haven’t you heard the story?” she asked, surprised.

 

“No,” Eugene said with a shake of his head.

 

“Oh, here we go,” Jay muttered before he drank from his beer.

 

_“Sshh_ , Jay,” Flo hushed before she turned to Eugene with a bright look in her eye. “I’d be happy to share it with you, Gene.”

 

“Settle in, Sledge,” Jay sighed.

 

“It was in ’02 after the boys first tour in Afghanistan,” she started. “They got a few days liberty on the way back to the states and they luckily stopped in Melbourne.”

 

“Me and Burgie and Snafu went out with a couple of other guys from our unit that first night,” Jay interjected. “I’m sure you can imagine where our heads were at.”

 

“A bunch of Marines released from a warzone onto an unsuspecting city for a weekend? Sounds like a liberty risk,” Eugene said with a smirk.

 

“You’re not wrong there,” he said with a soft chuckle.

 

“Anyways, I was out at this bar for a friend’s birthday when they came into the bar,” Flo continued before wide, almost girlish smile came to her face. “I saw Rom and instantly I felt a connection. He came over and asked if he could buy me a drink and chatted me up for a while. That is, until _someone_ came over and tried to pull Rom out of there.”

 

“Wasn’t me,” Jay said with a hand raised in defense.

 

“Ah,” Eugene nodded.

 

“Snaf and the other guys wanted to do a crawl and I wasn’t leaving the bar because it was my girl’s birthday and she wanted to stay put and Rom didn’t want to leave me so Snafu started throwing a fit. Eventually Snaf gave up and left and Rom stayed with me the entire night. He even helped my friends home before he walked me home.

 

“He wanted to do something the next day, take me out to lunch, but I had to watch my baby brother. But Rom was so determined to spend time with me he offered to take me and my brother out, which, lemme tell you, was no small feat because my brother was such a dick when he was younger. I mean, not like he’s _not_ a dick now because he is, but he’s just kind of a different kind of dick now…”

 

“Snafu definitely wasn’t pleased that Burgie ditched again to go babysit,” Jay remembered.

 

“Which I don’t get because I doubt Snaf was even conscious until halfway through our lunch.”

 

“Yeah well, then your lunch turned into dinner,” Jay reminded her.

 

“True,” she nodded before she turned back to Eugene. “When Rom was dropping us off, my mum was coming home and she demanded she meet him. I didn’t want to stress him out, ya know, meeting the parents after knowing each other for like a day, but Rom played it cool, didn’t shy away from a challenge and won mum over before dinner. And then mum dragged Rom to join up for dinner and he got along fine with dad and the rest of my brothers but after dinner I think it was safe to say that I had totally fallen for him, which was pretty shitty seeing as I knew this great guy was gonna be shipped to the other side of the world in a few days.”

 

“Tough situation to be in,” Eugene remarked.

 

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Since Rom was leaving in two days and since that second day he got dragged into family time, I thought we should go on a real date his last night in town.”

 

“I’m sure Snafu was happy to hear that Burgie would be out of commission for your last night in town.”

 

“Yeah, well, when isn’t Snafu mad about something. And fucksakes, he could go get maggot with Rom anytime. I only had one more day with him,” Flo said with a roll of her eyes.

 

“Decade later and he’s just now learning to share,” Jay said with a smirk.

 

“I had kinda hoped that getting in one solid date would maybe somehow get Rom out of my system. Like maybe I could trick myself into getting the whole experience with this guy and I could move on. Not that I wanted to get over Rom, just that I knew it would hurt to totally fall for this guy who lived on the other side of the world.”

 

“Didn’t work did it,” Eugene said, smiling.

 

“The very opposite of what I hoped, Gene,” she said with a grin and shake of her head. “I was totally fucked. Waking up with Rom that next day, I knew I just wanted to start every day of the rest of my life like that,” Flo sighed while a dreamy sort of look took over her eyes. “Luckily Rom felt the same way. As hard as long distance is I think it would have hurt more if Rom didn’t want to talk to me again. Not after I had fallen so hard so quickly.

 

“But Rom had to ship out and we didn’t know when we’d see each other again. We exchanged info and agreed to keep in touch, we both said it would be fine if we dated other people, since we had only been together for 3 days and we were still figuring our shit out, but we never did date anyone else after,” she finished softly, looking so quietly happy that Eugene couldn’t help but smile. “We emailed and skyped and called back and forth for a year. Didn’t go more than a few days without hearing from each other. And when Rom got deployed again, we wrote letters.”

 

Eugene watched as the soft expression slipped off of her face as she turned to look at Jay. Annoyance took over the loving look that was in her eyes.

 

“Apparently some guys thought I was fucking with Rom and wasn’t as committed to him as I said I was in my letters.”

 

“I wasn’t saying anything bad about you! I was just trying to keep Burgie’s head out of the cloud and be realistic,” Jay said defensively before he turned to Eugene, looking for a lifeline. “Sledge, I’m sure you’ve seen a dozen guys get played by their girls while they’re in the shit. It doesn’t end well. Besides, I don’t know why you always come for me when you talk about this, Snafu was the one who was sure you were playing Burg.”

 

“It’s just because you’re usually the one who’s with me when I tell this story,” Flo admitted. “I gotta yell at someone and Snafu never wants to rehear this shit.”

 

“So I’m getting punished for being a good friend and listening?”

 

“Um, did I not buy you shots and beer?” Flo asked as she gestured to the half drank glasses around them.

 

“Fair enough,” Jay muttered before he took a sip of his beer.

 

“Anyways, after Rom came home from that last tour, he got out of the Marines but it still took him a while for him to get back to me,” Flo continued. “Plane tickets to Australia aren’t cheap. But better a little late than never.”

 

“Me and Snafu came with,” Jay said. “Just in case.”

 

“Were you needed though?” she asked, her tone chilly.

 

“Obviously not,” he rolled his eyes before a reluctant smile split across his face. “They were like a fucking movie, Sledge. Grinning ear to ear, running into each other’s arms, Burgie blubbering like a baby.”

 

“We knew we couldn’t be apart again after that. I had finished my degree, my family had loved Rom as long as I had, and I’d been talking to Rom’s parents over the past two years as well and they were sweet and supportive. Sure, it was a bit crazy to move to the other side of the world and marry someone you had really only spent a couple days with in person, but what’s the fun in life if you’re not a little crazy?” she said with a shrug. “We got married in the courthouse in Rom’s hometown as soon as we could. We kept meaning to have a real wedding, have a chance for my family to come and visit me, but it just kept getting put off. Rom went to school and we wanted to wait until he finished his degree and then we decided to do the shop and any money we managed to save up went to the parlor.”

 

“But now you can finally get to that wedding you wanted,” Eugene pointed out positively.

 

“Only a decade late,” Jay teased.

 

“Ya know, you’d think that someone who had a decade to think over their wedding would have their shit together but there’s a lot of shit that goes into a wedding,” Flo sighed heavily before she took a needed sip of her drink. “You need a theme and a venue and cake and then you need to find the _people_ to do all that shit. We just moved here so I don’t know any of the fucking businesses around here either! Have to start totally from scratch. It’s gonna be a pain trying to find a bakery that’s not gonna rip me off and a florist…”

 

Flo froze and stared at Eugene, eyes wide, looking like a deer in headlights. Eugene exchanged a quick glance with Jay, hoping he’d have an answer for what happened, but unfortunately Eugene found his own puzzled expression mirrored on Jay’s face.

 

“Um, Flo?” Eugene asked quietly.

 

“Gene!” Flo exclaimed with an almost manic smile, breaking out of her trance so suddenly it made Eugene and Jay jump. “You’re a florist!”

 

“Yes…?” Eugene said slowly while he exchanged another quick, confused glance with Jay.

 

“You could do my flowers for the wedding!” Flo shouted excitedly, gaining attention from neighboring tables in the bar. “ _Could_ you do the flowers? We’d pay you the going rate of course, I just don’t want someone to rip us off and why don’t I go to the guy I know?”

 

“Um, I-I don’t know,” Eugene stuttered, taken aback.

 

“Why not?”

 

“I’ve never done flower arrangements for a wedding before, Flo,” Eugene admitted. “That’s a lot of work.”

 

“It’s also worth a lot of _money_ ,” Flo pointed out quickly. “Think about it. I wouldn’t expect you to give us some giant discount- I mean if you wanted to give us some discount, I wouldn’t say no -and they don’t have to be perfect, Gene. I promise I won’t be a bridezilla if they don’t come out as nice as they might have if I went somewhere else. And if you start with us you can get a feel for large scale arrangements and then you can start promoting them at the shop and probably bring in more money along the way! It’s a win for everyone! _Please_ , Gene, we’d really appreciate it.”

 

Eugene took in the puppy-dog expression on his friend’s face and couldn’t help the resigned sigh that came out of him; there really was no saying no to Florence Risely.

 

“Okay,” Eugene decided, causing a loud squeal of excitement to erupt from Flo before she got up from her seat and all but tackled Eugene out of his own seat. “ _Gah! Flo_!”

 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you!”_ she exclaimed as she squeezed the life out of Eugene. Flo paused in her declarations of gratitude to smack a kiss on Eugene’s cheek. “Oh, you’re fucking amazing!”

 

“It’s really not that big- it’s no problem,” Eugene stumbled while he felt himself begin to blush. “Just don’t get disappointed if what you get isn’t the best quality.”

 

“Don’t sell yourself short, Gene!” Flo said as she finally let Eugene go. “I’ve seen what you can do. I’m sure you’ll make me something beautiful.”

 

“Well, at least I can say I warned you,” Eugene joked before Flo kissed him one last time.

 

“This is amazing. We should celebrate.”

 

“Flo-” Eugene tried, knowing where this was headed. His voice fell on deaf ears because before Eugene could finish his sentence, Flo was already beelining towards the bar.

 

Jay snickered as Eugene stared tiredly at the bar.

 

“You really gotta learn to just roll with it, Sledge,” Jay chuckled. “You take up more energy fighting her. Just not worth it most of the time.”

 

“She’s going to give me liver damage, Jay,” Eugene said flatly.

 

“What kinda marine are you if you don’t already have a bit of liver damage?” Jay asked as Flo returned to the table with another round of shots.

 

“To Gene’s beautiful handwork!” Flo cheered as she raised her glass.

 

Eugene swallowed the burning liquid but he couldn’t help the grimace and slight wheeze that came after the act.

 

“I’ll make a real drinker out of you someday, Gene,” Flo said as she slapped Eugene on the back, grinning from ear to ear. “Just need some practice.”

*           *           * 

“There you are. Wondered where you ran off to. Try to call you but uh,” Bill gestured with his foot to where his phone still lay on the living room floor; Eugene forgot that he had thrown his phone in his fit of anger earlier.

 

“Oh, right. Sorry. Flo dragged me out for drinks,” Eugene explained as he entered the apartment sometime later; he didn’t feel like bringing up what came before the drinks to Bill, not yet anyways. Maybe tomorrow when he felt up to it.

 

“Oh, so you’ll get drinks with her but not with your old pal Bill? What kinda horseshit is that?” Bill complained from the couch.

 

“I’m sorry, Bill,” Eugene apologized.

 

“Why don’t you make it up to me and grab me a beer?” he grunted.

 

“That I can do,” Eugene nodded before he ducked into the fridge. “Oh, hey, I got some good news. At least, I think it’s good news.”

 

“What do you mean you _think_ it’s good news?” Bill asked as he accepted the beer Eugene offered him.

 

“Well, Flo was talking about getting things in order for her wedding and she started talking about the flower arrangements when she asked me if we would be able to do the flowers for her wedding,” he explained as he sat down next to Bill on the couch.

 

“Flowers for a _wedding?_ Well, what’d you say?”

 

“I said we’d do it.”

 

“What the fuck, Gene?” Bill huffed. “Do you know how to make an arrangement for a wedding? Cus I sure as hell don’t.”

 

“I’m sure we can figure it out, Bill. We have some time to learn,” Eugene said before he remembered Flo’s selling point. “Flo said she’d pay us the going rate and do you know how much the wedding industry estimates for a full flower arrangement? We could make some real money out of this, Bill. And think about it,  if we get our foot in the door with weddings, we could maybe do more in the future and dig ourselves out a bit. We could start making serious profits.”

 

At the mention of profits, Eugene heard his mother’s voice ring through his brain. Sure, he was always glad to be able to help a friend in need, but if he was able to shut his mother up a bit in the process, well, that wouldn’t be too bad either.

 

“You should have started with that,” Bill said before his face split into a grin. “I ain’t mad at the idea of making some money around here. This calls for a celebration.”

 

“No, Bill,” Eugene sighed weakly as Bill got up from his seat and headed to the kitchen.

 

“What? You got drinks with you best friend Flo so now you can’t have a drink with me?” he asked as he grabbed his half-empty bottle of whiskey and two clean cups from the drying rack. “It’s one drink. And we’ve earned.”

 

“We haven’t done anything yet, Bill,” Eugene reminded him as he accepted the glass anyways.

 

“You secured us a gig and that counts for something,” he explained as he poured a bit too much whiskey into Eugene’s glass. “Now shut up and drink.”

 

Without comment, Bill knocked his glass against Eugene’s, causing a bit to slosh out of his glass and onto the floor, before he brought the glass to his mouth. Doing as he was told, Eugene copied Bill’s movements and drank, wincing heavily as the harsh liquid entered his mouth.

 

“So how much exactly does one charge for flowers for a wedding?” Bill asked as he settled back into his seat and focused on the television in front of them.

 

“We looked it up and the average a bride spends is about two-grand, give or take some depending on what they do,” Eugene answered as he started into the amber liquid in his glass. “Probably keep a decent chunk of that as profit.”

 

“Holy fuck,” Bill said, turning to Eugene with an impressed look on his face. “You did good kid.”

 

“Thanks, Bill,” Eugene sighed while he refrained from rolling his eyes.

 

“Imagine if we can actually start pulling wedding gigs all the time,” Bill wondered.

 

“That’s a lot of work for the two of us.”

 

“Well maybe if we get a couple of these gigs we can get to the point where we get someone else in the shop,” Bill explained. “So it’s not just you and me anymore.”

 

“You tryna get rid of me, Bill?” he teased. “You mad cus I’m hanging out with Flo and Jay?”

 

“No, asshole,” he said, shoving Eugene for good measure. “Believe it or not, I miss hanging out with you like this but that’s kinda hard to do when one of us is always down at the shop. Maybe someday we can get to the point where we’re chilling up here, drinking and relaxing, while other people work for us.”

 

“Yeah, maybe.”

 

“I got a good feeling about this, Gene. First year of any business is real make or break but we’ve scraped through it and now’s the time to start moving up,” he said confidently before his head snapped back to the television and his expression soured in an instant. “Oh, what the fuck kinda call is that? Strike _my ass_ , what game is this fucking ump looking at?”

 

Chuckling quietly, Eugene brought his cup back to his mouth and drank. While Bill continued to shout and swear over the game in front of him, he couldn’t help but think over Bill’s ideas for the future. Maybe he was right. Maybe this would be the start. Maybe after this they could get some more attention, widen their business, bring their heads above water instead of just scraping by all the time. It was hard to be hopeful, he knew that all too well by this point in his life, but maybe this time things would work out for them, work out for him.

 

Eugene drained his cup and relished in the warm sensation that spread throughout his body.

*           *           *

Gasping and shaking, Eugene shot upright from his bed. All of the sights and sounds around him were muted while his brain struggled to return to reality. He registered somewhere, somehow, that there were tears on his face, mixing in with the cold sweat that covered his body. He didn’t care, couldn’t find the energy to care. Fuck, he was exhausted.

 

Almost without thinking, Eugene robotically threw his legs over the edge of his bed and forced his trembling legs to support his weight. He didn’t stop to listen for Bill snores; he didn’t want to know if he woke the poor guy up yet again. . Instead he headed towards the balcony, in search of some sort of refuge from his demons.

 

Following the norm of the past few weeks, the balcony was not empty when Eugene exited out on to it.

 

Snafu sat perched on perimeter railing, shirtless, chain smoking, and looking almost bored. He slowly turned his head towards Eugene until his large pale eyes landed on him with a mild interest.

 

“Evenin’,” he mumbled around his cigarette.

 

As much as he enjoyed his neighbors company on his good days, when it came to weeks like this, where all he needed and wanted was time alone to decompress, he hated the fact that his neighbors were always around. Feeling irritation building in his chest, Eugene chose to ignore him.

 

How much would it be to ask for his balcony to be empty one night this week?

 

“Not up to talkin’, huh?” Snafu drawled, his low voice carrying across the expanse of concrete without much effort.

 

“No,” Eugene answered as he loaded up his pipe, back fixed to the other man, knowing  in the back of his head that his words wouldn’t deter him.

 

“Now where’s that southern charm, Sledge?” he continued, undeterred. “Rude of you not to want to stop and chat. What would your mama say if she knew?”

 

Eugene had to wonder, did Snafu know about the call with his mother or was he just particularly gifted in finding and pushing people’s buttons that he knew that’s all he had to say to get a rise out of him.

 

“Listen, can you just give me a couple minutes alone?” Eugene asked, using all of his willpower to try to make his voice calm and polite; he was failing miserably.

 

When Snafu didn’t immediately respond, Eugene turned his head to face the figure over his shoulder. He found Snafu staring at him, looking mildly annoyed.

 

“Funny,” Snafu said as he slid his thin body off of the railing so that he stood upright. “I don’t see your name anywhere on this shit sayin’ it’s yours to police.”

 

“You’re almost done with your smoke,” Eugene pointed out angrily. “Can’t you just go back inside?”

 

“Who said I’m done when this smoke is done?” he asked as he slowly sauntered towards Eugene. “Hell, maybe I came out here to smoke this whole damn pack. And you know what, Sledge? I can do what I want because this right here, this is my side of the porch and you gotta learn to share.”

 

“Why the fuck do you have to be such a dick?” Eugene snapped. “At least I asked nicely.”

 

“Sure, but I got the right to tell you to fuck off if I want to,” Snafu said before he lit himself a fresh cigarette. “So fuck off, Sledge. Have your pity party all you want on your side but I’mma stay right over here.”

 

Eugene watched, feeling slightly dumbfounded, as Snafu slid back to the perimeter fence and landed against it, completely unruffled.

 

“Fuck you,” Eugene grunted, not knowing what else to say but feeling as if he shouldn’t let Snafu have the last word.

 

“That the best you got?” he responded through a cloud of smoke with a smirk on his face but a cold look in his eyes. “Fuck you too, Sledge. That ain’t gonna scare me off of your precious balcony. Ya gotta try harder than that.”

 

“What the hell is your problem?” Eugene snapped, standing up to fully face his neighbor.

 

“My problem?” he asked, smirk pulling into a snarl. “I ain’t got a problem, Sledge. You’re the one with the problem.”

 

“What?”

 

“You’re just pissed because I won’t treat you like Flo or Ack Ack and baby you just cus you’re having a rough go of it,” Snafu grunted. “But it’s about time you thicken up that skin of yours and realize you ain’t the only one who’s kept up by things bumping around their brains. You ain’t fucking special, Sledge, so why do you deserve some special treatment?”

 

Eugene clenched his jaw until his molars scraped uncomfortably together. Snafu had a point and he absolutely hated to admit it, even if it was just quietly in the back of his brain.

 

“So like I said: I’m gonna sit on my side and get through my night as best as I can and you can stay on your side and cry and scream or whatever it is you gotta do to get through your night or you can go inside and do it there but I ain’t moving and I ain’t gonna ask you to move either. You might’ve lived here longer but I’ve been at this game much longer than you, so you better learn to deal with it better cus it ain’t gonna be pretty the next time you come at me like this.”

 

Eugene wanted to throw something, wanted to scream and curse. He wanted to be able to sit back on the couch and keep his back resolutely to Snafu while he enjoyed a smoke. He didn’t do either of those things, however. Instead he turned on his heal and stormed back inside of his apartment, letting the screen door rattle shut with the force he used to close it, feeling very much suddenly like a child upset for not getting his way.

 

Maybe his mother had a point. Maybe he still had some growing up to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading everyone! i'm really excited for whats to come next chapter and i can't wait to get it to you guys!
> 
> feel free to send a review my way, let me know what you liked, didn't like, if you have any questions or if you just wanna say you liked the chap!!!
> 
> ❤️


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's another memorable Fourth of July for Eugene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow look at this, a decently on time update.
> 
> Seriously though I've been waiting to write this chapter since before I officially started this fic so i'm excited that you all get to finally read it!
> 
> thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and gave kudos last chapter and thanks again to May for making Flo authentically australian :)
> 
> hope you enjoy!

_*           *           *_

_“…All that is told here happened some time before Mowgli was turned out of the Seeonee Wolf Pack, or revenged himself on Shere Khan the tiger. It was in the days when Baloo was teaching him the Law of the Jungle. The big, serious, old brown bear was delighted to have so quick a pupil, for the young wolves will only learn as much of the Law of the Jungle as applies to their own pack and tribe, and run away as soon as they can repeat the Hunting Verse…”_

 

Yawning heavily, Eugene rested his dog-eared book on top of his chest before he stretched his arms and legs out as much as possible. The fabric of the couch scratched uncomfortably against his bare skin but the sensation wasn’t so unpleasant that Eugene considered putting on a shirt; the city had fully transitioned into summer by this point and his options for making life barrable were limited.

 

_“… And that brings us to the end of the first inning: Minnesota Twins three! New York Yankees one.”_

 

“Fucking come on,” Bill muttered.

 

Eugene tilted his head and watched as his friend lit himself a fresh cigarette. Bill, also shirtless in an attempt to keep cool, sat a few feet away on a milk crate, cigarette in one hand with a beer in the other, listening to the game. It was their day off from the shop, so they were both at liberty to veg out on the balcony.

 

“Honey, I really gotta get going,” Burgie’s voice carried from the other side of the balcony. “Snafu’s gonna come up here and start bitching if I don’t get back down there soon.”

 

“Let him bitch,” Flo responded lightly.

 

Eugene lifted his head slightly and could just barely see over the back of the couch as Flo pulled Burgie into a quick kiss, her hair, now a deep, vibrant pink, flowed in the light breeze. The scene made him smile.

 

All in all, today definitely felt like one of his better days as of late.

 

His sleep, while still poor for the average person, was not as torturous as it had been a week or so ago. Eugene assumed that the sheer exhaustion he felt outweighed his demons for the moment.

 

“Hey.”

 

Eugene jumped slightly at the sound of Flo’s voice so near him; a moment later and Flo’s face appeared above him as she leaned over the metal divider. Out of the corner of his eye, Eugene could make out the hazy image of Burgie heading back downstairs to the parlor.

 

“Hey,” Eugene returned, voice groggy.

 

“What’re your plans for Thursday?”

 

“Thursday?” Eugene asked before he tilted his head and exchanged a confused glance with Bill.

 

“Um, the 4th?” Flo explained, looking amused. “Would’ve thought you’d remember.”

 

“Oh,” Eugene responded quietly while mentally tried to count the days in his head.

 

The past few weeks had been a bit of a blur without any particular need to know the number of the day. In the back of his mind he knew the date was approaching but he didn’t realize just how close the dreaded day was. Needing visual confirmation, Eugene picked up his phone from where it laid on the ground and saw the date displayed clear as day; it was July first. Eugene felt his stomach sink uncomfortably while he wished he could just quietly melt into the fabric of the couch and disappear into a different realm for the next week.

 

Thankfully, Bill picked up the slack when Eugene fell short of words.

 

“Why the fuck is the _Aussie_ bringing this up?” Bill asked bluntly, taking the brunt of Flo’s attention in the process.

 

“Hey, I’m just here to get drunk and have a good time in the sun and in this country that means the 4th,” she explained before she returned to her original point. “Just wondering what you guys do since this is our first year here and we don’t know what goes down.”

 

“We don’t do much of anything,” he answered. “Drink and smoke. Take a day off of work. I know they set off some fireworks downtown if you’re into that.”

 

It was a fair assessment of how _Bill_ usually spent the holiday. Eugene’s take on the day was a little different. Last year Eugene spent the majority of his day curled up inside of his hot, dark room while he attempted to block out the sights and sounds from outside; no matter how unbearable it was inside of his room with the windows shut to block out the sound, it was more bearable than being outside where it was filled with explosions.

 

As embarrassing as last year was for him, it still was an improvement on the two years before it. Two years ago, Eugene had attempted to enjoy the day and had joined Bill out on the tiny balcony of his shoebox Brooklyn apartment while they smoked and drank the day away. However, as soon as the fireworks started up, Eugene was set into a panic attack so intense he vaguely remembered Bill helping him inside to get him away from the noise. Three and four years ago, Eugene had spent the holiday at home…Eugene didn’t like to think about what happened four years ago.

 

“… Texas, Rom’s family would have a barbeque and some people down the road would light off some fireworks…”

 

Eugene blinked a few times while his mind returned to the present. Flo, seemingly unaware that anything was happening under her nose, talked about how her and the guys spent the holiday previous years.

 

“… Rom’s a really good cook and we have a little barbeque at our place, we could bring it over and cook  up some food here. Could drink and chill, listen to music,” Flo continued. “Whatcha think?”

 

Eugene felt Bill’s eyes on him. Turning his head, he met Bill’s gaze and saw the barely concealed concern in his eyes.

 

“Actually, Flo-”

 

“I think that’s a great idea,” Eugene interrupted as he turned away from Bill.

 

His heart was pounding a mile a minute and his stomach was churning so violently from anxiety he thought he was going to be sick but he forced himself to stay calm, at least on the outside.

 

“Great! It’ll be amazing, guys,” she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “We defs have room to bring over a table and we can play pong or flip cup- sucks we can’t play Goon of Fortune though.”

 

“Sounds great,” Eugene said as he sat up, not feeling up to asking what Goon of Fortune was.

 

“I’m gonna go run down and tell the boys,” Flo declared before she bounced down the back stairs.

 

As soon as Flo’s vibrant hair disappeared below the balcony, Eugene got up from the couch and headed inside; unsurprisingly, Bill followed him.

 

“Why the fuck did you agree to that, Gene?” Bill asked as Eugene collapsed against the kitchen counter.

 

“It would have been weird if we said no,” Eugene responded tiredly.

 

“You sure you know what the fuck you’re doing?

 

“Yes, I’m sure,” Eugene continued as he put extra effort into keeping his breathes slow and even so he wouldn’t start hyperventilating. “We’ll sit out with them, we’ll eat some food and drink. It’ll be fine.”

 

“What’re you gonna do later? Ya know, when you’re _not_ fine.”

 

“I’ll go inside, Bill,” Eugene answered, feeling irritated. “I’d bet by the time it’s sundown, they’ll all be drunk and won’t even notice I’m gone. It’ll be fine.”

 

Bill looked like he wanted to keep arguing with him but instead, Bill clenched his jaw before he nodded his head.

 

“Whatever you say, Gene,” he sighed warily before he turned and retreated to the balcony.

 

Instead of following after Bill, Eugene moved further into the apartment. After he stopped to turn on the window AC unit in the living room and the fan in the hallway- placed there in the hope that the cool air would make its way to the bedrooms -Eugene entered his room and collapsed on top of his bed.

 

His heart continued to flutter uncomfortably fast inside of his chest and it felt like something was wrapping around his chest, making it hard to breathe. Reaching out blindly, Eugene pulled on of his pillows and clutched it tight to his chest while he tried to keep his breathing calm and even.

 

_It’ll be fine_ , Eugene told himself as he continued to feel not fine at all. _You’ll be fine._

 

Eugene knew that Bill’s concern was justified, he had been with Eugene over the past two years and had heard what happened to Eugene during his first 4th of July back home. However, Eugene wished his friend gave him a bit more confidence; he felt like maybe it would put some confidence in himself.

 

He couldn’t keep hiding away every year. Or at least, he had to keep trying, right? Maybe he couldn’t handle all of it, but Eugene felt like he could handle a couple hours out in the open, definitely while it was still light out and nothing too chaotic was happening. Thinking over the previous years, he felt as if there was an improvement in himself, even if it was small. Maybe this year would be another step forward, a step forward something normal.

 

Fuck he hoped this could be a step forward and wouldn’t be a mistake…

 

Curled onto his side with his pillow pressed to his chest, Eugene watched as the light slowly moved across the room as the sun set in the distance. By the time his room was filled with dying orange rays, he felt something resembling okay. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep anytime soon- if at all -, Eugene reached over the edge of the bed until his hands found the book he let fall onto the floor and picked it up. Utilizing the last of the daylight, Eugene resumed his place and waiting for the nostalgic, calming effect of Kipling to take him over.

*           *           *

“This is horseshit.”

 

“Snaf,” Flo warned.

 

“So what? We gotta do everything with them now?” Snafu complained.

 

Eugene didn’t acknowledge the conversation happening a few feet away, instead he focused on his job of watering the front displays.

 

“You’re the only one with a problem,” Flo said with a roll of her eyes. “And honestly, it’s deffo just because no one has an issue, so someone has to stir the shit.”

 

“Nah, everyone else is just too scared to stand up to you and your ideas,” Snafu countered with a puff of cigarette smoke; Eugene couldn’t help the small smile that came to his face when he heard the distinct sound of Flo’s hand hitting Snafu upside the head.

 

“If you don’t like it, you don’t haveta fucking be there,” Bill snapped from where he stood equidistance between Eugene and Flo.

 

_Buzz…_

 

“Y’all gonna be on my porch for this shit. I got some say in it, Leyden,” Snafu snapped.

 

_Buzz…_

 

Eugene paused to check the called I.D.- it was Sidney -before he turned off the hose and set it on the ground so he could answer the call.

 

“It’s Jay’s place too and he ain’t got a problem with it,” Bill countered. “You’re overruled.”

 

“Hey,” Eugene answered as he slipped inside his shop to escape the noise of his friends.

 

_“Hey_ ,” Sidney greeted him. “ _Was hoping I could catch you before I had to get back to work.”_

 

“Your wish has been granted. What’s up?” Eugene asked, as he sat down behind the counter; although in his gut Eugene had a feeling he knew what the call was about.

 

_“Heard you’re not coming down for the 4 th.”_

 

“Yeah,” Eugene sighed; his suspicion was right. “It’s just really hard to get down there and leave Bill with the shop-”

 

_“Eugene, you don’t have to explain or spin me a story. I get it_ ,” Sidney said, his voice soft and even. _“I know… I know it’s not your favorite holiday. And trust me, I know how stressful your family can make a guy feel. You don’t need the stress that comes with the holiday on top of the stress your family gives you.”_

 

“Thanks,” Eugene muttered, feeling grateful. “Really.”

 

_“Don’t worry about it, greaser,”_ he said with a slight chuckle. _“So… are you doing anything for it or…?”_

 

“We have plans with the neighbors,” Eugene explained. “Nothing big. Just gonna hang out on our balcony and drink and eat and relax. Should be nice.”

 

_“You gonna be okay with that?”_

 

Eugene felt a bit of irritation flare up inside of him but once again, he knew the extra concern wasn’t unfounded, so he pushed the feeling down and kept his voice even.

 

“I can handle it, Sid. Don’t worry.”

 

“ _Well, alright_ ,” he responded, sounding decidedly unsure. _“I gotta run though, Eugene. Just wanted to call you while I had a minute.”_

 

“Go on,” Eugene said, working to keep his voice light. “Go save lives and be a hero or whatever.”

 

_“Ha, yeah, sure. I’ll talk to you soon, though, alright?”_

 

“Yeah. Talk to you later, you old greaser.”

 

_“Bye, Eugene.”_

 

“Bye.”

*           *           *

Wednesday found Eugene spending the majority of his time in the back office of the shop fighting with the ancient computer while he attempted to look up different wedding floral arrangements; he promised to give Flo a couple different possible options for her to look over soon. She didn’t need the arrangement options right away but Eugene figured not only was it better to get things together as soon as possible, but it allowed him to be productive while hiding from the noise that went on outside; it was only the third but several people in the neighborhood already started lighting off smaller fireworks throughout the day in anticipation for tomorrow and it set Eugene on edge.

 

Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t spend the whole day in hiding. Not only was it unbelievably frustrating to work for several hours on the ancient device, but Eugene did have work to attend to in the front of the shop.

 

“You know you can still back out of this shit,” Bill said as he followed Eugene around the shop, not working on anything except for Eugene’s last nerve. “You don’t have to do this. You could play sick or something.”

 

“We’ve been over this, Bill,” Eugene reminded him tersely as he reorganized one of the interior displays. “Not only would it be weird if I wasn’t there tomorrow but, like I’ve told you _multiple_ times, I’m fine.”

 

“Right, cus you look totally fine,” Bill countered.

 

Eugene stopped in his movements so that he could turn and face Bill.

 

“You know I’m just tryna look out for you, Gene,” Bill said defensively.

 

“I know, Bill, and I get it, I really do, but I promise you, I’ve got it handled,” Eugene said as evenly as he could manage.

 

“We could have said we had plans somewhere else,” Bill suggested.

 

“We could have, sure, but _you’re_ the one who said we were staying put and if we told her no we would have needed an explanation,” Eugene pointed out harshly; once he saw Bill’s face fall slightly he immediately felt like shit. “It’s fine, really, don’t feel bad.”

 

“You could play sick,” Bill suggested again. “Food poisoning or something.”

 

“I swear to God, Bill, stop worrying about me,” Eugene hissed as he turned back to his work.

 

No matter how much Bill’s unrelenting pestering irritated Eugene’s already raw nerves, he had to remind himself the concern only came from a place of love. He really just wanted Bill to listen to him and drop the subject before Eugene let out his irritation on him and did something he’d regret later.

 

“What are you gonna do though when shit goes down?”

 

When. Not if.

 

“I can handle myself, okay, Bill?” Eugene snapped, rounding on his friend. “When shit hits the fan I’ll go inside! I appreciate your concern but I don’t need you holding my hand every step!”

 

Eugene waited for Bill to return fire but instead all Bill did was turn his head towards the front door. Confused by his lack of reaction, Eugene followed Bill’s eyes and felt his heart sink slightly when he saw a slightly started Burgie standing in the doorway.

 

_Fuck_ , Eugene thought quietly while he schooled his face into something neutral.

 

“Um, is this a bad time?” Burgie asked.

 

“No,” Eugene sighed, turning his head so he could focus on the tile floor instead of looking his friend in the face. “What’s up, Burgie?”

 

“Uh, Flo was gonna run to the store and buy some stuff for tomorrow. We just wanted to know if you guys wanted anything in particular. She’s already planning on grabbing burgers and hotdogs and prawns but I can text her if you have anything else.”

 

“No, that sounds good to me, Burg. Does she need any help?”

 

“Nah, she’s fine,” Burgie said with a small wave. “She took my truck so she doesn’t have to carry everything herself.”

 

“Good,” Eugene nodded, not sure what else to say.

 

“Well, we’ll see you tomorrow then,” Burgie said awkwardly as he stepped back towards the door. “Probably be over sometime after noon.”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

Once Burgie ducked out of the store, Eugene looked back at Bill. Before his friend could say anything else, he gave Bill a stern look that said “drop it”, before he sidestepped him and walked out of the back of the shop. He still had another twenty minutes left in his shift but he figured the benefit of running his own business was being able to end his day whenever he saw fit and right now, all Eugene wanted was some peace and quiet.

*           *           *

By the time it was late enough for Eugene to get ready for bed, he felt almost sick with dread. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he actually appeared as if he was coming down with something. His skin was much paler than usual, making him look sickly and the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced. Glancing down at his hands, which clenched the edge of the sink so tight his knuckles were white, he noticed they were shaking. He certainly looked like someone you should be worried about.

 

Staring back at his reflection, Eugene tried a couple of deep breaths to calm him down; unsurprisingly, they did little to change his state.

 

“You’re gonna be fine,” Eugene whispered to himself. “It’s gonna be fine… remember what Andy said: you’re different than before, even if you can’t see it.”

 

_Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out._

 

“You’re different, so this year will be different,” Eugene continued as he broke his hands away from the edge of the sink so that he could turn on the water.

 

Eugene took a moment to splash his face a few times with cold water; if it didn’t help him relax it at least cooled him down a little and made him feel more comfortable in the muggy closet of a bathroom.

 

_Breathe in, breathe out._

 

“You’re going to be fine,” Eugene told his reflection, a little louder this time. “You’re not the same as last year. You’re different.”

 

Knowing he could only hide in the bathroom for so long, Eugene slapped the light switch off as he ducked out of the bathroom. As he shuffled to his room, he could hear Bill in the living room, watching some action movie from the nineties.

 

Still feeling sick with nerves, Eugene kept repeating his little mantra quietly to himself as he got into bed. He knew tomorrow he could do as Bill suggested. He could play sick, tell Bill to tell the others he ate something bad and could barely leave bed, and spend the whole day hiding inside away from it all. He could do that, take the easy way out, but the idea of spending one more fourth hiding away in fear made him feel worse than anything.

 

He didn’t know what tomorrow would bring him- would it be a repeat of years past or would he finally be able to move on -but Eugene knew he’d face it straight backed and unafraid. He wasn’t going to hide just because things were difficult.

*           *           *

An explosion rocketed Eugene from his slumber.

 

Springing upright, his heart racing so fast it hurt, Eugene stared around in the darkness while he tried to register where he was, a million thoughts flying around his mind. Where was he? Where was everyone else? How long had he been asleep? Was even supposed to be asleep or had he fucked up and fallen asleep while he was on watch?

 

He needed to find the rest of the boys, needed to find out where the fuck he was.

 

Stumbling out of the room, Eugene tore through the dark building, running into walls in the process. His eyes focused on the moonlight which poured in through a window in a doorway and he raced towards it, hoping to find an answer on the other side. Eugene stumbled so roughly as he exited the mystery building he almost fell flat on his face but he managed to catch himself. Sucking in the humid night air, Eugene kept moving until a metal bar cut sharply into his midsection and he was forced to stop.

 

“ _Don’t_!” shouted a strangled voice from somewhere behind him.

 

Eugene hands gripped at the metal while his brain seemed to go blank; where did he know that voice from? It was familiar, but it didn’t sound like any of the guys in his unit.

 

Eugene blinked and watched as a dark alleyway came into focus beneath him. He lifted his head and blinked again; the side of a neighboring building appeared. He looked down again and saw his white knuckles gripping onto the waist high iron fence which wrapped around the perimeter of the balcony…

 

The balcony…

 

He was in Boston, not Iraq or anywhere in between. He was safe. Whatever had woken him up- was it a nightmare or because of something outside his mind -wasn’t a threat. He was okay.

 

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Eugene suddenly remembered the voice. Turning around, Eugene found Snafu standing in the shadows on his side of the balcony, eyes wide and locked on Eugene with an intensity he hadn’t seen in a few weeks. Even in his state and in the low light, Eugene could see that Snafu was struggling to keep his face emotionless.

 

“What’d you say?” Eugene croaked.

 

For a long moment, Snafu simply stared at Eugene, unmoving without even blinking his eyes. Eugene figured he should have been slightly terrified by the scene or at the very least, he should feel annoyed that once again Snafu caught him in such a state, but for whatever reason, Eugene didn’t feel either of those things. In fact, except for his heart steadily pounding against the inside of his chest, he felt almost nothing.

 

Ever since Snafu told Eugene off over a week ago, they hadn’t spoken to each other. If everyone was out on the balcony or hanging out in front of the shops, Eugene would speak to Flo, Burgie, and Jay and Snafu would happily harass Bill but the two never exchanged words. Not until now.

 

“Just… one story drop ain’t gonna kill ya,” Snafu finally spoke up, voice soft, almost unsure. “Not unless you aimed it right of course. Probably’d just fuck you up a bit and you don’t need that.”

 

It took Eugene another moment to process what Snafu said and piece it together with the foggy memory of what he had yelled when he first broke out onto the balcony.

 

“I wasn’t gonna jump,” Eugene responded quietly.

 

“Good,” Snafu mumbled with a nod before he cleared his throat and forced something resembling his usual lazy smirk onto his face. When he spoke again he was louder and contained a bit more of his usual swagger. “It’d be a bitch to clean that mess up, I’m sure. Be bad for business.”

 

Without another word, Snafu slipped silently back into his apartment; the glow coming off of his cigarette showed that he wasn’t even half way finished with it.

 

Feeling taken aback, Eugene stared at his neighbor’s door for a minute, almost waiting for Snafu to burst back onto the balcony and be his usual rude, brash self instead of the quiet and almost concerned figure he had seen tonight.

 

He didn’t reappear. Instead, Eugene was left alone on the balcony while his mind ran over and over the scene that just occurred, trying to figure it out. By the time the sun started to rise in the distance, Eugene retired back to his bed with the intention of perhaps getting another hour of sleep and feeling oddly thankful of Snafu Shelton for giving his ragged mind something to think about instead of old ghosts and nightmares.

*           *           *

“Ah! Fuck you, you fuckin’ cheat!” Flo shouted drunkenly as she shoved Snafu roughly away from the cup-covered table they had set up on Jay and Snafu’s side of the balcony.

 

“I didn’t fuckin’ cheat,” Snafu slurred as he stumbled over to the cooler set up against the dividing fence so he could grab a fresh beer. “Just admit that you suck and America is better than your Koala infested country.”

 

“Koala’s are endangered, you fuckwit!”

 

“Whatever,” Snafu mumbled as he collapsed onto one of the folding chairs they had set up sporadically around the balcony. “Go home and fight a kangaroo.”

 

“Why do that when I can just fight you,” Flo countered before she stormed over to him and pulled him into a headlock. “Ready to tap, bitch?”

 

Eugene stared at the scene in front of him as Snafu attempted to continue drinking his beer around Flo’s arm, completely unfazed.

 

“I would ask if this is normal, but by now I know that this is probably par for the course, right?” Eugene asked Jay calmly as he continued to watch the scene in front of him.

 

“You’re finally learning, Sledge,” Jay said proudly from where he sat next to him on the couch. “They always go wild on the fourth. Which means that me and Burgie have to keep level heads so they can be supervised.”

 

“Hey, hey, hey!” Burgie suddenly called out from where he stood on the other side of the balcony in front of the small grill he and Flo had dragged over. When Flo and Snafu refused to break up, Burgie went as far as to dramatically snap the metal grill tongs at them, as if they were two misbehaving cats he was trying to scare apart. “I said no choke holds!”

 

“Sorry, Rom,” Flo said with an annoyed sigh.

 

As Flo slipped back to where her husband stood, Eugene scanned the expanse of the balcony and took in the minor level of destruction that covered the area; the day was only a little more than half over but the party had already been raging for hours.

 

Burgie and Flo showed up a little after ten in the morning to set up the grill and other odds and ends they brought over for the party. Snafu was drunk by noon and Flo followed soon after. The two were the source of most of the noise and entertainment of the day, as they spent a majority of their energy drunkenly arguing over which country was better: America or Australia; they had to be constantly broken up by Burgie or Jay when they got too rowdy. Jay pulled out an inflatable kiddie pool and set it up on Eugene and Bill’s side; Bill was currently lounging in the pool, looking more relaxed than Eugene had seen him in recent memory. Burgie kept a steady supply of food going for them, most likely done so to give them something to soak up the alcohol and keep them from becoming completely belligerent. Jay, for the most part, had reigns on the music, probably because he among the group had the most neutral music taste and was least likely to set someone up in arms over a song choice.

 

The table set up on the other half was now absolutely covered in plastic cups in different stages of fullness. Flo, always one to keep everyone entertained, was quick to get them all involved in a round of beer pong or flip cup; Eugene had never played flip cup before but found the fast pace game rather entertaining.

 

With all of the lightness and laughter that surrounded him, Eugene was actually able to enjoy himself instead of feeling almost sick with stress, which was something of a miracle.

 

The antics ramped up as soon as Jay pulled out a couple packs of sparklers and snap pops for everyone. It only took about thirty seconds for the snap pops to turn from childish fun to a weapon; after Bill- supposedly on accident -exploded a snap pop on Jay’s foot, it became an all-out war. Everyone’s bare feet were a fair target and it granted everyone a few minutes of immature entertainment. The game only came to an end after Snafu exploded a pop against Flo’s ankle and she shoved Snafu into the kiddie pool in retaliation, spraying water all over Eugene and Jay in the process.

 

Eugene laughed so hard his stomach hurt.

 

The snap pops were then replaced with sparklers; every now and again someone would try to be funny and flick sparks at each other but for the most part it was harmless fun. As Flo lit another sparkler for Eugene, he was overcome with a warm, nostalgic feeling of summer’s past, of lighting up sparklers on the back porch of his family house with his brother and Sidney while they desperately tried to write their names in the fading electric light.

 

As the sun began to set, Eugene happily accepted another drink from Flo and truly started to believe the words he had been repeating to himself weakly the night before. This was his year and he was going to enjoy the day just like everyone else.

 

“Here she comes!” Flo exclaimed excitedly some time later as the rumble of explosions grew in the distance.

 

While the rumbling in the distance increased, so did Eugene’s pulse. Eugene took a long pull of his drink, not even wincing when the alcohol hit his tongue this time, hoping that it’d be enough to bring him back to normal.

 

_You’re okay. You’re okay_ , Eugene repeated to himself as his friends all rushed to the edge to watch the colors illuminating the sky in the distance, leaving him alone.

 

Eugene took another gulp of his drink, hoping this one would do the trick, before he went to move so he could join the others. However, when he tried to move his legs, he found them unwilling and unresponsive, as if they suddenly had turned into lead pipes.

 

“Get a load of that one!” Flo shouted gleefully, although Eugene couldn’t help but notice her voice sounded distorted to his ears.

 

_You’re okay. You’re fine_ , Eugene tried to tell himself again while as he started to feel a slight burn in his chest; he had stopped breathing. _Breathe. Remember to breathe, idiot. In, out._

 

Eugene opened his mouth but instead of taking in a deep breath, he felt himself wheeze uncomfortably.

 

_Breathe in._

 

_BANG!_

 

Eugene’s vision went hazy as the sky turned alive with colors.

 

_Fucking breathe._

 

_CRACK!_

 

Eugene felt his hand go slack and liquid splashing onto his feet and ankles but he didn’t care, he couldn’t care, because the bright, celebratory colors which filled the sky transformed into something much more sinister in his addled mind- the red and orange explosions from mortars and bright white tracers, a string of firecrackers going off down the block turned sinisterly into MG fire in his mind.

 

_Get out. Get out, now_.

 

With his legs magically, mercifully functioning again, Eugene managed to stumble backwards until his back hit the warm brick of the exterior of the building.

 

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

 

The terrifying colors began to fade into an equally terrifying grey haze which blocked out his vision. Fumbling desperately for a moment, Eugene latched onto the hard metal of the door handle and swung it open with all of his force.

 

Vision now almost totally black, limbs shifting back to unresponsive, Eugene all but collapsed inside his apartment. Staggering now, he moved until he ran into something hard- the kitchen counter -and gripped onto it for dear life.

 

He could feel himself slipping away, falling somewhere else, but he didn’t fight it. He figured wherever his mind wanted to take him, it couldn’t be anywhere worse than what he was experiencing in the present.

 

_Breathe_ , Eugene reminded himself weakly as he felt the sharp edge of the counter begin to disappear. _Breathe in..._

 

Breathe out…

 

_“Breathe dammit,” Eugene hissed to himself, eye clenched tight while he held onto the cool porcelain material that was the sink in his parent’s powder room._

 

_“Eugene, dear, where did you run off to?” His mother’s voice rang in from the hallway. “Mr. and Mrs. Fairgood just arrived and they would like to see you!”_

 

_“Alright, mother!” Eugene responded loudly while he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach he got at the idea of having yet another conversation with some of his parent’s friends. “Be out in a second!”_

 

_Knowing the time he had to hide was quickly evaporating, Eugene turned on the faucet and splashed some cool water on his face, knowing deep inside it really wouldn’t help him any._

 

_“There you are,” his mother said, tone edging on exasperated as Eugene reappeared in the hallway. “Are you feeling well? You look pale.”_

 

_“I’m fine,” Eugene lied while he gently stopped his mother’s hands before they could land on his face to more properly inspect him. “Who am I meeting again.”_

 

_“The Fairgood’s,” his mother answered as she began to shoo him down the hall towards the back door, where all the noises poured in from._

 

_“Who are they?” Eugene asked tiredly, he has been introduced to so many different people today all the names and faces and background stories were starting to bleed together._

 

_“They’re Martha’s Aunt and Uncle, they’re very nice people dear. Mrs. Fairgood plays bridge with me and the girls on Mondays.”_

 

_“Oh.”_

 

_“Yes,_ and _they’ve also brought along their lovely daughter Clarissa, who just graduated from Ole Miss. Isn’t that wonderful? You’ll have to chat with her.”_

 

_“Sure,” Eugene muttered tiredly as he stepped out onto the veranda, feeling his pulse jump up slightly at the increase of auditory and visual stimulants._

 

_He knew what his mother was doing, it didn’t take a genius to figure out her plan. The party had been in full swing for three hours now and in that time his mother had introduced him to no less than seven young, pretty daughters of acquaintances. It seemed as if his mother had invited every eligible upper-class bachelorette in all of Alabama to their house, just for Eugene to meet and chat up._

 

_Eugene couldn’t help but feel partially bad by the fact that his mother’s efforts and these ladies’ afternoons were wasted on him._

 

_As his mother all but dragged him through the crowd, Eugene couldn’t help but think about how much he used to enjoy this yearly party. He would spend the day eating and drinking and laughing as he goofed off with his brother and Sidney; an entirely carefree summer day. Now, however, things were much too different. His brother was much too grown up now to act out with him- he was getting too old too but he didn’t want to think about it -, Sidney now spent the entire affair glued to Mary’s side, and everyone at the party thought it was acceptable to stare at him like he was some sort of exhibit at the zoo or pester him about his life and time in the Corps._

 

_Everyone at the party seemed to want a piece of him. Before, it would make sense for the guests to greet him and maybe talk for a minute or two- they were visitors at his house after all -but now they all wanted a full length story, wanted to surround him until he felt claustrophobic. The non-stop attention made him feel like there was a spotlight on him the entire day and sent his anxiety through the roof. All he really wanted to do today- besides somehow revert back to his childhood self so he could enjoy the day like he used to -was hide in the peace and solitude of his room or the nearby forest until he was able to calm down some, but whenever he managed to slip inside for a moment or two, his mother would always find him without fail and drag him back out into the madness._

 

_He was sure it wouldn’t be long before he started screaming._

 

_Eugene somehow managed to keep himself together and acceptably polite when his mother introduced him to the Fairgoods. Clarissa was a perfectly pretty and smart young woman but she had the particular misfortune of being seemingly genuinely interested in him, which made Eugene feel bad when he inevitably had to make an excuse to slip away and hide from her- as well as the numerous other eligible young women his mother rounded up for him --for the remainder of the party._

 

_He knew he’d be admonished later by his mother for being rude to their guests, would probably get heckled by Sidney for having to beat the ladies off with a stick, but he couldn’t care anymore. He was tired and wired and needed five fucking minutes of peace and quiet. Being as stealthy as possible, Eugene slipped into the house via the side entrance and ducked into the kitchen. Mindful of the windows, Eugene sat on the floor with back pressed against the lower cabinets._

 

_He felt like a child, hiding in the corner behind the center island, but it didn’t stop him from staying there for as long as possible. Unsurprisingly, not too long after he settled into his hiding place, he heard the backdoor open, followed by footsteps which grew louder with each step towards him. He heard the footsteps pause by the powder room, probably to check the most obvious of his hiding spots, before they continued down the hall. Eugene could tell based off of the sound of the footsteps- flat and heavy instead of the light clicking sound of his mother’s heels hitting the hardwood -that it wasn’t his mother this time; she most likely got tired of dragging her fully grown child out of the house and instead sent his brother in to do her bidding for her._

 

_“Not the best hiding spot I’ve ever seen.”_

 

_Surprised, Eugene looked up and found, not his brother, but his father._

 

_“But it’ll do,” his father mused. “Mind if I join you?”_

 

_Eugene shook his head before he watched his father slowly ease himself down onto the tiled floor and press his back next to the row of cabinets next to him. For a moment or two there was comfortable silence between them, the only noise coming from the party raging outside. Eugene closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and relished in the comforting effect his father always seemed to have on him._

 

_“Your mother wanted you to know that they’re about to start the fireworks,” his father said quietly, eyes focused on the lower cabinets of the kitchen island standing in front of them._

 

_Eugene nodded but didn’t try to move from his spot._

 

_“How…how are you feeling?” his father asked, finally turning to look at him._

 

_Eugene didn’t turn to meet his gaze. Instead he kept his eyes focused on his clenched fists, resting on top of his knees; his knuckles were white._

 

_“Sort of… overwhelmed, I guess,” Eugene answered after a moment of searching for the right word to describe how he felt. “Mom sure did invite a lot of people this year.”_

 

_Eugene watch out of the corner of his eye as his father nodded sympathetically, understanding the true meaning behind his carefully selected words._

 

_“She just wants you to be more social,” his father explained gently. “Make some friends. She’s worried about you, you know. You barely leave the house anymore.”_

 

_Eugene couldn’t even argue with that statement. In the past month or so he had become more and more secluded. He rarely left the house and if it was, it was probably just to be by himself in the nearby wooded area. Sidney would come over from time to time and sometimes, when he was feeling up to it, he’d make the trek to Sidney’s new place, but with Sidney’s steadily growing busy schedule, their meetings were growing fewer and farther in between._

 

_“Mom’s not trying to find me a friend, she’s trying to find me a wife,” Eugene muttered tiredly._

 

_“Yes, well… she just doesn’t want you to be lonely,” his father sighed. “It may seem like overkill but I hope you realize she does it all out of her love for you, Eugene.”_

 

_“I know. Doesn’t mean I’m okay with it.”_

 

_“I know. We’ll have to take to her tomorrow, try to talk her down from this campaign of hers,” he continued before he reached out, gripped one of Eugene’s hands, and gave it a quick but firm squeeze. “But until then, it’ll probably be easiest to get back out there, smile and wave to make her happy. It’s almost over,” he added when Eugene began to pull a face. “Soon they’ll all be gone. You just need to stick it out for another hour or so. Alright?”_

 

_“Alright,” Eugene relented before he pushed himself up off the floor, even though every fiber of his being wanted to keep himself planted there._

 

_As he followed his father reluctantly down the hallway, Eugene could feel his heart begin to pound, the closer they moved to the noise and madness of outside. When he went to hold the door open, he couldn’t help but notice that his hand was shaking._

 

_The sun had almost completely gone down, the sky was a navy blue color now, and the fireworks were set to start any moment. The sky ahead of him was still clear but he could hear the rumblings of the smaller stuff going off in the distance; it was enough to make his pulse jump and his body start to sweat. He tried to take in a deep, calming breath but found himself coming up short. He tried again, tried to force it, but it came out more of a wheeze than anything._

 

_Eugene didn’t realize it but he had stopped moving. His father now stood at the top of the steps, unaware that his son was no longer following him. Determined to keep up with him, Eugene picked up his foot and moved closer to the man._

 

CRACK!

 

_Excited cheers erupted around him as the sky transformed from its drab navy to electric pinks, greens, and blues._

 

_It felt like something or someone knocked the wind out of him and his blood ran cold. The figure of his father standing in front of him began to lose its clarity, all the crisp lines now turned blurry. Eugene tried to breathe and only felt a burning ache in his chest. He couldn’t move his legs, couldn’t move forwards to seek out his father and he couldn’t move backwards into the safety of his home. He was frozen in terror._

 

BANG!

 

_The next thing he knew he was on the floor again, out of breath and disorientated. Eugene blinked and watched in horror as the sky turned to fire._

 

_He couldn’t breathe… he couldn’t move… he couldn’t think…_

 

_“Eugene?”_

 

_Eugene blinked and suddenly found his father crouched in front of him, concern evident on his face._

 

_“I… I can’t,” Eugene wheezed painfully, not quite sure what exactly he was referencing in the moment._

 

BANG!

 

_Eugene flinched at the sound and felt a sob unleash from deep within him before he felt his father’s strong hands slip under his arms._

 

_“Sorry,” Eugene sobbed when his legs shook so terribly he couldn’t stand upright on his own._

 

_He couldn’t hear his father’s response, or even if there was a response to be heard, all he could hear was the sound of explosions and the pounding of his own heart._

 

_A moment later and suddenly Eugene was being set down on something soft, the sounds of chaos outside now more muted, less intense. Eugene blinked and found himself staring at the polished hardwood floors of the living room; his father had managed to get him into the living room and onto the couch._

 

_“I’m sorry,” Eugene broke down, sudden clarity bringing with him an overwhelming feeling of embarrassment and shame. “I’m sorry.”_

 

_“You don’t have to apologize to me, Eugene,” his father said kindly as he wrapped a supportive around his trembling shoulders._

 

_“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he moaned._

 

_“It’ll be okay,” his father assured him calmly, arm squeezing tighter whenever Eugene jumped from the sound of another firework._

 

_“I’m sorry you’re missing the fireworks,” he sniveled, feeling absolutely miserable._

 

_“Don’t even worry about it.”_

 

_The two of them stayed frozen in their positions until explosions outside slowly died and the soft sounds of voices returned._

 

_Feeling slightly more together but still immensely embarrassed, Eugene forced his wobbling legs to support his weight and stood up._

 

_“You should go back out there,” Eugene mumbled, keeping his head down in a weak attempt to hide the tears on his face from his father. “They’ll wonder where you went.”_

 

_“That doesn’t matter to me,” his father resolutely as he stood up. “What matters to me is that you’re alright. Come now.”_

 

_Responding to the gentle pressure of his father’s hand on his back, Eugene moved further into the house and up the stairs to his bedroom. Eugene only paused to kick off his shoes before he crawled into bed without instruction._

 

_As his father sat on the edge of his bed, he couldn’t help but feel like some small child who had been so scared by a nightmare their parent had to come comfort them but he didn’t care, he was so exhausted he couldn’t find it in him to care at all. Eugene closed his eyes, not caring when he felt the sensation of tears sliding down his face, and waited for his exhaustion to take him over._

 

_“Maybe next year.”_

 

But it wouldn’t be next year. Or the year after, not even the year after that. It would never be his year clearly, not ever again. Not many facets of his old self still stuck with him after all these years of trouble and he just had to accept that this was one piece of his old life he had to relinquish. He was broken, irremediably so.

 

Anger and disappointment swirled inside him until they exploded out of him. He felt the back of his hand collide with something and heard the dull noise of something being knocked into the sink but he didn’t stop to investigate.

 

Eugene wanted to hide away in his bedroom, get as far away from it all as possible, however his still unresponsive legs had other plans for him. He was only able to make it as far as the couch before his legs all but gave out on him. Collapsing heavily onto the couch, panting and shaking Eugene felt as if he was going to be sick any moment now.

 

Bracing his elbows on top of his knees, Eugene curled in on himself while he readied himself to ride out the rest of storm that was still ranging outside.

 

He was an idiot. Why did he even bother thinking he could do this? Why didn’t he listen to Bill? What really would have been worse: hiding away like a coward or living through this mortifying experience yet again? Eugene supposed the only saving grace of the night was that everyone else was too drunk to notice his disappearance-

 

“Sledge?”

 

The voice was soft and uncertain- so much so that he couldn’t immediately recognize the unique drawl -but Eugene jumped as if it had yelled at him. Jerking his head up to stare at the entryway that separated the kitchen from the living room, he saw a figure standing there, softly illuminated by the colorful lights outside.

 

“Sledge,” Snafu repeated as he took a hesitant step forward.

 

Out of all the people outside who might have noticed he was missing and gone to investigate, Snafu was the last person Eugene would have expected. The shock of seeing him there was almost enough to break through his frozen mind; he probably would have asked what the hell he was doing if he thought his vocal cords would actually respond. Based off of the cautious, almost terrified look in his wide eyes, Eugene got the feeling that Snafu himself wasn’t quite sure what he was doing inside of the apartment.

 

A heavy silence reigned in the apartment as the two men continued to stare each other down, neither one making a move.

 

_BANG!_

 

A particularly loud explosion shook the apartment, forcing Eugene to duck back down into a defensive posture. Staring wide eyed at the scratched up hardwood of the living room, Eugene heard nothing but the sound of blood rushing through his ears. Suddenly the couch springs groaned and he felt a heavy weight next to him causing the couch to dip. Startled, Eugene turned and found Snafu sitting next to him,

 

“Sorry,” he apologized quietly before he shifted his position slightly so that they were close enough for their shoulders to brush.

 

Eugene stayed silent, even as Snafu wiggled a pack of cigarettes out of his pants pocket and lit up inside his living room, something that he had yelled at Bill for doing multiple times.

 

Another loud firework rang outside and Eugene squeezed his eyes shut tight and felt his body tense up. When he managed to open his eyes again he found Snafu’s hand extended in front of his face, half-smoked cigarette held out in an offering. Eugene accepted it with shaking hands without a second thought and inhaled deeply, sighing as the nicotine worked to calm his raw nerves. When he felt Snafu’s shoulder press firmly against his own, Eugene passed the smoke back to him. Snafu didn’t move his shoulder away.

 

Back and forth they passed the cigarette between them. Not a word was spoken out loud but a million words were said every time Eugene tensed at the crack of a new firework and, in response, Snafu’s pressed his thigh to Eugene’s or knocked his bony knee against Eugene’s. By the time the cigarette was smoked down to the filter, Eugene and Snafu were pressed almost continuously from ankle to shoulder.

 

It was odd… it was comforting. Usually when someone had the misfortune of finding Eugene in a state like this, they gave him his space, treated him almost like a wild animal who had gotten hurt: they all wanted to help him but they weren’t sure how to do it without scaring him off. Snafu, clearly, had the opposite tactic. He seemed to think the best cure was to crowd every last inch of Eugene’s personal space. Eugene couldn’t really complain, since it seemed to be working.

 

Clearly prepared to stay for the duration, Snafu crushed the smoldering bud underneath his heal before he tapped out another from the pack.

 

“I thought…” Eugene started, his voice rough and sticking uncomfortably in his throat.

 

Snafu turned to look at him, unlit cigarette dangling out of the corner of his mouth, bumping against the loop of his lip ring. Face angled towards him now, Eugene couldn’t help but realize how close they were, how it should have made Eugene feel wholly uncomfortable but for whatever reason, the warmth and pressure of Snafu’s body comforted him. Eugene didn’t move away.

 

“I thought that maybe this year I could do it,” Eugene admitted quietly to Snafu, not stopping to question why he was confiding in the likes of Snafu Shelton. “Maybe this year I could do something as simple as enjoying some fucking fireworks with my friends. Just like every other normal person in the fucking world. But I can’t even do that.”

 

Eugene watched as Snafu played with the cigarette in his mouth for a second before his eyes darted away from him quickly. Fumbling slightly, Snafu reached for his lighter and after a quick failed attempted he managed to light his cigarette. With puff of fresh smoke, Snafu looked at Eugene out of the corner of his eye.

 

“Fireworks ain’t all that they cracked up to be, Sledge,” he drawled. “There’re better things to waste your time staring at.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Eugene asked as he stole the cigarette from Snafu’s fingers. “Like what?”

 

If possible, Snafu’s gaze suddenly felt more intense than before but Eugene didn’t shy away from it. When Snafu remained silent, Eugene returned his cigarette to him, which Snafu accepted before he quickly ducked his head, breaking the eye contact.

 

“Thought you could be normal,” Snafu mumbled to the floor before he huffed a tiny laugh. “That’s rich.”

 

“Why?” Eugene asked quietly, too tired to feel angry or upset.

 

“Thought you’d’ve figured it out by now but since you haven’t, I guess I’ll have to spell it out for you,” Snafu continued as he lifted his head so that his eyes could lock on Eugene once again. “You ain’t normal. You ain’t never gonna be normal or like everyone else ever again. You know why?”

 

Eugene felt his heart sink and whatever small, odd comfort he got from Snafu’s presence flood away from him. Why was he surprised? Based off of the last real interaction they had, he should have expected some horseshit like this to come out of Snafu’s mouth-

 

“It’s cus you’re a _marine_ ,” Snafu answered with a hint of pride in his voice and a smirk curling the corner of his mouth. “Second you made it through boot camp, you was different from everyone else in the world and you was never gonna be normal again, boy, no matter what happened to you after.”

 

Surprised at the turn the conversation took, Eugene stayed silent and waited to see where Snafu would go next while his little speech.

 

“So the fuck what if you can’t watch some stupid fireworks,” he continued as he turned away from Eugene. “They ain’t shit. ‘sides, there’s a whole world of things normal Tom, Dick, and Harry’s could never do. Being normal is a crock of shit and you’re wasting your energy if you’re trying to be that, got it?”

 

“Got it,” Eugene said with a nod of his head, feeling shocked that he felt comforted by Snafu’s harsh words.

 

“Good,” he mumbled before he let the cigarette bud fall to the ground and crushed it under his heal, just as he did to the other one.

 

“Would you like an ashtray?” Eugene asked flatly as he stared at the small pie of ash Snafu had created on his living room floor.

 

“I’m good,” Snafu said cheekily as he pulled out another cigarette and lit it up.

 

“Asshole,” Eugene huffed with a roll of his eyes, giving Snafu a firm shove with his shoulder before he snatched the cigarette away from him.

 

“Oooh, Sledgehammer’s got a little bite in him,” Snafu teased, grin growing from ear to ear.

 

“Sledgehammer?”

 

“Yeah. Every good marine needs a good nickname. Don’t you think?”

 

“Suppose so,” Eugene agreed before he leaned back against the couch and let the name run through is brain a few times. “Bill needs a nickname.”

 

“I said every _good_ marine, Sledgehammer,” Snafu countered as he followed Eugene’s move and leaded back against the couch; Snafu laughed when Eugene swatted at him. The sound of laughter almost seemed weird in such a previously tense space.

 

“Jay doesn’t have a nickname, does he?” Eugene pointed out. “Gonna talk shit about your friend next?”

 

“Nah, Jay don’t need a nickname when he got a title,” Snafu said, looking suddenly giddy.

 

“What do you mean?” he asked slowly.

 

“Ya see, ol’ Jay De L’Eau is the Sack Race Champion of K/3/5.”

 

Settling in to hear what was sure to be a memorable story, the sounds from outside all but disappeared in his mind. Soon the only sounds that seemed to fill the dark living room were the sounds of laughter as Snafu told him about the time Jay shit himself.

 

Feeling impossibly better, Eugene couldn’t help but think of something Andy had told him weeks ago.

 

_Give Snafu a chance._

 

At the time Eugene had seemed skeptical, wasn’t quite sure how a guy like Snafu managed to attach himself to people like Burgie, Flo, and Jay, how Andy and Eddie spoke of him so fondly, but now, now Eugene felt the puzzle pieces clicking together. In this moment, Eugene felt as if the man who hid behind the weird comments and the weirder looks, all the snarls and smirks, was starting to come into focus.

 

“Think the big show is over with,” Snafu said as he angled his head so that he could make out the small sliver of night sky visible from the living room window. “If you’re feeling up to it or…?”

 

“Yeah,” Eugene decided after a moment; he realized he could very easily slip into his bedroom and call it a night but somehow, someway, there was still a hopeful spark inside of him which told him to keep going. “Yeah, I think I’m good.”

 

“Good,” Snafu said with a nod before he got up from the couch. Turning to face Eugene, Snafu’s face split into a mischievous smile. “I still gotta get Flo back for that horseshit move she pulled earlier and I’mma need someone on the sober side to hold her back when she comes for me.”

 

“Oh, no,” Eugene said with a shake of his head, standing up and silently thanking his legs for cooperating and feeling decently solid. “This thing you got going on with her is gonna stay between you two. I am not getting involved.”

 

“Wow, thought neighbors was supposed to help each other out.”

 

“Why don’t you try Bill?” Eugene suggested with a smirk. “I’m sure he’d love to give you a hand.”

 

“Yeah, the day Ledyen does me a solid is the day hell freezes over.”

 

Laughing softly, Eugene exited the quiet refuge of his apartment and reentered the barely contained chaos of the balcony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally some real progress with eugene and snaf! 
> 
> hope you enjoyed the chapter and hopefully the next update will be as speedy as this one!
> 
> reviews and kudos are much appreciated :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eugene beings (what he thinks is) an unlikely friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait on this one guys and honestly, i probably would have had this up a month ago if my computer hadn't freaked out about 17 different times while writing this chapter, which meant i lost chunks of the chapter every time and had to rewrite a couple scenes several times.... (i know i should just write on googledocs so it autosaves and shit but there a lot of things i should do that i wont ever fucking do so...)
> 
> anyways, hope this chapter's worth the wait! sorry for any mistakes in the chapter, i didn't edit it as thoroughly as i usually would because i wanted to get it out here quicker :/

*        *        *

Eugene brought the smooth, wood of his trusted pipe to his mouth and inhaled, leaning his head back against the rough, rusted metal of the dividing fence as the nicotine entered his system.

 

“I don’t fuckin’ get it,” Snafu declared bluntly from where he sat on the other side of the balcony, back also pressed against the dividing fence, just a foot or so away from Eugene.

 

Eugene rolled his eyes as Snafu reached through the gap in the fence for Haney’s lighter so that he could light his own cigarette.

 

“It gives me something to do with my hands,” Eugene answered, voice slightly muffled because he refused to remove his beloved pipe from the corner of his mouth; if only he had a dollar for everyone someone gave him shit about his pipe.

 

“I could give ya a couple suggestions of other things you could do with ya hands, Sledgehammer,” Snafu drawled as he looked over his shoulder so that he could stare at Eugene in the dim lighting of balcony.

 

Eugene’s face suddenly turned hot; he knew it had to be colored a deep pink now. He should be thankful that the lack of lighting this time of night meant that Eugene’s face was hidden from view but knew it didn’t matter; whether he could see it or not, Snafu knew the effect his words had on Eugene. It’s why he did it. Snafu loved to make Eugene squirm.

 

Proving Eugene right, Snafu’s low chuckling laugh suddenly ripped through the quiet that was the balcony.

 

“Fuck off,” Eugene huffed, which caused Snafu to only laugh louder.

 

“Seriously you look like some piece of hipster trash when you smoke that shit,” Snafu continued, still laughing as he did.

 

“You’re one to talk about looking like trash,” Eugene countered once he found his voice again.

 

“Wow,” Snafu retorted flatly. “Fuck you too, Sledge.”

 

“And gimme my lighter back,” Eugene ordered, noticing the shared lighter was still in Snafu’s hand.

 

“Don’t gotta bite my head off,” Snafu teased before he slid the lighter back towards him; Eugene reached through the gap in the dividing fence to grab it.

 

Haney’s lighter safely back in hand, Eugene paused to wipe the sweat off of his forehead before he went about repacking his pipe. Even in the dead of night the heat and humidity were still a force to be reckoned with.

 

August was here and it brought its own set of obstacles with it.

 

The thick brick of the building, created with the idea of keeping the harsh winters out, now turned their apartment into something resembling an oven. During the day Eugene and Bill spent as little time as possible inside their apartment; their tiny window AC unit could barely make a dent into the heat which now permeated their apartment.

 

When it came to sleeping, Eugene and Bill now slept in the living room where the AC could bring  some change to the temperature. Eugene regularly gave Bill the couch, seeing as it was rather unlikely in this heat that he’d sleep much at all; even over the constant noise of the box fan Eugene had dragged out onto the porch in an attempt to cool down, Eugene could still hear Bill’s loud snores.

 

Eugene glanced over his shoulder for a moment and watched as Snafu billowed a cloud of cigarette smoke into the night air, resembling something of a chimney for a moment. He recognized that not too long ago this scene, the two of them calmly enjoying a 3 a.m. smoke, would have been completely unexpected to him, but as of late, it seemed to be the new normal for them, ever since everything that happened on the fourth.

 

Eugene still suffered from his usual round of nightmares but now when he would escape to the balcony after he came to, he was rarely alone. Either Snafu would already be present and waiting out on the balcony, drinking or smoking his health away, or he’d be out soon after Eugene collapsed on the couch. It used to annoy him, when he found Snafu encroaching on his territory and disrupting his time alone but now things were different. Now Snafus presence was oddly reassuring and when he rambled on and on about some bullshit he had witnessed that day- a tattoo he had created that he was particularly proud of, something funny Flo had done, a customer that had been extremely idiotic to him-, instead of irritating Eugene, his slightly slurred words helped to distract Eugene from whatever his fucked up conscience had just made him relive. Eventually Eugene would find his voice and chime in with his own accounts of the day, returning to something quite close to normal much quicker than when he was left to his own devices on the balcony. 

 

They talked about every superficial subject under the sun, often until the actual sun rose. They didn’t, however, talk about why Eugene stumbled out onto the balcony almost every night, shaken and upset or why Snafu was also often already up and awake instead of asleep like he should have been or why Snafu often spent their time putting away a pack of smokes or a bottle of cheap booze. 

 

They both had skeletons in their closet, much more than the average person, and somewhere along the way, they had both come to a silent agreement to not bring up either persons demons.

 

Motion in the corner of his eyes snapped Eugene out of his minor revelry. Eugene turned his head and found Snafu now lying sprawled out on his back. He continued to watch as Snafu stretched his whole body out, arms reaching above his head, toes curling, and back arching off of the balcony floor. Staring at Snafu, Eugene couldn’t help but think of a cat, lying stretched and content on a warm slab of sidewalk.

 

“Like what you see?” Snafu asked, wide smirk on his face. 

 

With a huff, Eugene turned away quickly while Snafu’s low chuckles filled the quiet balcony. He really should know better than to give Snafu a chance. 

 

“And you give me shit about staring,” Snafu called out, forcing Eugene into a flush. 

 

Needing to distance himself from Snafu, Eugene slowly forced himself off of the hard balcony floor, wincing as different parts of his body popped and cracked at the movement. 

 

“What? Leaving me already?” Snafu asked as he propped himself up onto his elbows to better stare at Eugene. 

 

“No,” Eugene answered before he collapsed onto the nearby couch. “Just too old to be spending all night sitting on the hard ground.” 

 

A comfortable silence filled the air as Eugene settled into his seat on the couch. He had managed to clean his pipe of the old ashes and repack it just as the quiet peace was disturbed by sharp, short noise from behind him. Turning around, Eugene found Snafu, propped up on one elbow with a freshly opened can of beer in his unoccupied hand; not at all surprising behavior from Snafu. Turning away, Eugene lit his pipe and closed his eyes in relaxation as the nicotine entered his body.

 

_ Tap, tap, tap.  _

 

Eugene turned around once again but this time he found Snafu extending an unopened beer toward him, pressed gently against the metal of the dividing fence. 

 

_ Tap, tap, tap. _

 

“You really gonna let me drink by myself?” He asked quietly when Eugene stayed silent. 

 

“I’m good, Snafu,” he declined politely. 

 

“Oh, come on,” Snafu whined before he repeated the motion and tapped the beer can against the metal of the fence again. “What’s one beer gonna hurt?” 

 

_ Tap, tap, tap.  _

 

“You telling me you couldn’t go for a nice, _ cold _ beer on a  _ hot  _ summer’s night?”

 

_ Tap, tap, tap. _

 

Knowing that Snafu would keep this act up for the rest of the night, Eugene reached out his arm towards the beer, sighing in defeat. 

 

“You need help opening that, Cher?” Snafu asked after Eugene accepted the beer but did not open it. 

 

“No. I’m just not an idiot who's gonna open up a beer after you’ve shook it all up by hitting it against the fence,” Eugene said smugly, causing Snafu to laugh. 

 

A moment later and Eugene felt it was safe to open the beer. He didn’t want to admit it but Snafu was right; the cold beer really hit the spot after sitting outside in the heat for a  while.

 

Eugene had meant to go inside after the first beer but somehow Snafu convinced him to partake in a second, and after there was only two beers left, Snafu reasoned that they might as well finish the pack. He was almost done with the last beer and feeling comfortably buzzed when a voice disrupted the peace on the balcony.

 

“Gene…?”

 

Surprised, Eugene turned towards the voice and found Bill standing in the doorway of their apartment, clearly just having rolled out of bed and dressed for work. He could see the slight concern on Bill’s face- understandable since he didn’t always find Eugene in the best of moods this early in the morning -before it was replaced with confusion and then slight annoyance when he saw who was also out on the balcony.

 

“Since you’re awake, woulda been nice of you to open the shop instead,” Bill grumbled as he stepped out onto the balcony and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. “Let me get a couple more hours of beauty sleep.”

 

Eugene blinked his heavy eyelids a few times, feeling as if he had come out of a trance. Looking around the balcony, he was surprised to find it covered in early morning light; he could have sworn moments ago it was still dark.

 

“Sorry,” Eugene replied before he tossed Bill Haney’s lighter before Bill could ask..

 

“Would’a been pointless, Leyden,” Snafu spoke up from where he lay on his side of the balcony. “No amount of beauty sleep in the world could make a dent in that mug.”

 

Bill only responded with a middle finger before he headed towards the metal stairs and slipped downstairs.

 

As Eugene listened to Bill’s heavy steps descend downward, he noticed a shift in the mood on the balcony, as if some sort of spell had been broken. Eugene stared down at the almost empty beer can in his hand while he slowly took in the odd situation he found himself in. He was immensely grateful that Bill was opening this morning; what would he do if he had to open, stumbling around buzzed as he did.

 

He hadn’t meant to stay outside this late and definitely hadn’t meant to have several drinks while he was at it; he still had time to head inside and sleep it off before he had to head into the shop today.

 

“Well, I’m gonna call it a night,” Eugene said uneasily as he rose to his feet and shuffled towards the door.

 

Pausing with his hand on the door, Eugene glanced over his shoulder at Snafu. He was still lying on his back, cigarette now lit between his lips, while his pale eyes stared unfocused at the awning above, looking almost as if he had forgotten that Eugene was ever even out there with him.

 

“See ya around, Snafu,” he muttered before he slipped inside of his quiet apartment.

*        *        *

“Ah, there he is!” Bill exclaimed loudly as Eugene entered the shop some time later with two overpriced coffees in hand; even after his successful nap, Eugene still felt pretty rough, which meant the spending a little extra money on some good coffee was a necessity if he was going to make it through his shift today. “Beginning to wonder if you were ever going to show.”

 

“I’m five minutes late, Bill,” Eugene sighed as he set Bill’s coffee on the front counter in front of his friend.

 

“Yeah and that’ll be coming out of your paycheck!” Bill concluded loudly as he accepted his coffee.

 

“I write the paychecks, Bill,” Eugene reminded him tiredly; anytime Eugene was even thirty-seconds late Bill loved to pull this shit. “And if you’re gonna play that game, I’ll just take that coffee back. I’m only late cus I decided to get you a coffee out of the goodness of my heart.” 

 

Eugene extended his hand towards Bill in a half hearted attempt to take the coffee away. Before Eugene’s fingers were anywhere close to being a danger to Bill’s beloved caffeine, Bill turned his back to him, his pout still slightly visible to Eugene even from that angle. 

 

“‘Was only joking,” Bill mumbled; Eugene laughed. 

 

Eugene turned and took a few steps towards the back when Bill’s voice stopped him in his tracks. 

 

“So how long have you two been such good friends?” 

 

“Huh?” Eugene responded, turning around. 

 

“You and Snafu,” Bill added. 

 

“Bill,” Eugene huffed, rolling his eyes; sometimes he really couldn’t believe how dramatic Bill could be. 

 

“Ya know, I just think it’s funny,” Bill continued, voice full of thinly veiled annoyance. “Until recently I thought you fucking hated this guy. Now you’re up all night braiding each other’s hair and drinking beer.”

 

“First of all, if anyone here hated Snafu, it was you, Bill, alright?” he countered quickly. “Secondly, you don’t have to be all defensive; you’re still my favorite around here.”

 

Before Bill could say anything else, Eugene slipped into the back office and headed towards the stack of invoices lying on the desk. As he began flipping through the paperwork, Eugene’s mind couldn’t help but stick on what Bill accused of him.

 

Sure, it was true that he and Snafu were spending a considerably larger amount of time in each other’s company lately but Eugene wouldn’t go as far as to say that they were best friends now. A decent amount of their time was spent in silence, only talking to ask for a lighter or offer a beer, and when they did talk it was never anything important; it was always general complaints about customers or the weather or other generally unimportant things. In his opinion, they weren’t exactly friends, at least not yet, instead Eugene would say that they were neighbors who finally were starting to get along.

 

“Bill, did you water the displays yet?” Eugene called out as he wandered down the hall towards the front of the shop, eyes still slowly scanning the numbers on the invoice, searching for any possible mistake. 

 

“Uhh, nope,” Bill answered from where he lounged behind the front counter, completely unconcerned. 

 

“ _ Bill _ ,” Eugene said exasperatedly, giving up on the invoices so that he could stare at his friend. 

 

“What?” He asked, annoyed. “Since when do we have to water ‘em this early in the day?”

 

“Since it’s been August,” Eugene answered, equally annoyed. “They’re gonna dry out there in that sun.”

 

“Sorry,” Bill grunted. “But ya know it’s kinda hard for one person to watch the inside of the shop while being outside. Maybe if we had some more bodies...”

 

“The only way we’re getting a third person in here is if we somehow convince a college student to be an unpaid intern.”

 

“Might work,” Bill mused. “College kids can be pretty desperate.” 

 

“We have no room to talk about being desperate.”

 

“Got a point I guess,” Bill conceded before he slipped off of his chair and stood up. “I’ll go water the displays.”

 

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Eugene said as he waved the papers at Bill. “You had to open, sit back down, I can go do it.”

 

“You’re too good to me, Gene,” Bill said with a grin as he happily resumed his seat. 

 

“Yeah, I should really stop that,” Eugene teased before he exited the air-conditioned shop. 

 

As Eugene uncoiled the garden hose out front, he stared at the empty sidewalk in front of the tattoo parlor. It was a little odd to look at the front of the parlor and not also see one or two of the occupants standing outside, smoking or talking or laughing. Glancing into the storefront windows, Eugene was able to make out a couple of people milling about inside of the shop. 

 

Heat wasn’t the only thing August brought to the city. The month also brought a large wave of fresh faced college students to the city, many of which celebrated their entry into adulthood and lack of parental supervision by marking up their body with a tattoo or piercing. 

 

Eugene was proud to see the shop so busy and full of activity, even if it meant his day was a little less entertaining than usual. He was also a little grateful for the increase of business at the parlor; there was a decent amount of spillover of customers from the tattoo parlor to the flower shop, which meant that Eugene and Bill were able to bring their head above water for the month. 

 

“Yo boss.”

 

Eugene blinked before he turned his head towards the sound. He found Bill standing in the doorway of the shop, cocky grin on full display. 

 

“What?” He asked, unsure of what his friend was about to say. 

 

“Just got a call from Linda, ya know, the one from the diner.”

 

“Yeah, I know Linda,” Eugene nodded; the diner down the road was one of their favorite places to grab a bite whenever they had the funds to eat out. “What’d she want?”

 

“Apparently her grandpa just kicked it,” Bill continued, smile still plastered broadly across his face, confusing Eugene.

 

“That’s awful,” he said slowly, as if he had to remind Bill that a relative dying usually wasn’t something to smile about.

 

“The guy was 94 alright? It was bound to happen any day.”

 

“Well if you somehow make it that long don’t get offended when I start asking you why you haven’t kicked it yet.”

 

“You honestly believe I’m gonna make it that long?” 

 

“That’s why I said  _ somehow, _ Bill. Either your fat mouth or your diets gonna get you one of these days.  

 

“Surprised I’ve made it this long,” Bill laughed. 

 

“You  _ do _ have nine lives,” Eugene pointed out, thinking back to all the close calls Bill’s had over the years. 

 

“Anyways, Linda called cus she wanted us to make a couple arrangements for her for the funeral,” Bill continued, grin returning to his face. “And before you start, _ yes _ , I did offer her a discount out of the goodness of my heart and your polite southern ways- but she didn’t want it.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. She must know we can’t really afford to give discounts,” Bill pointed out, giving Eugene a flat look. “But that’s not even it.”

 

“What? Did the people who run the laundromat have a relative die too?” 

 

“Nope. Apparently, Linda told all her family that if they were gonna send flowers, they should get them from here,” Bill finished, smug smile splitting into a full, cocky smile. “She said that we should expect some orders to come in any day now.”

 

“What? Why’d she do that?”

 

“She said that we always gave her good business and that she just wanted to return the favor,” Bill shrugged. “But think about it man, we were already ahead of estimated profits for the month, now we’re gonna probably double.”

 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Bill,” Eugene warned. “Just because she said told people to order from us doesn’t mean they will.” 

 

“Come on, Gene,” Bill sighed. “This is a clear win, alright? Why can’t you just celebrate a little?”

 

Eugene stared at Bill’s exasperated expression and felt annoyed when he realized Bill had a point; big victories like this were few and far in between for them and they should really hold onto the happiness that came with it when they could.

 

“I’ll celebrate when the orders actually start rolling in and the checks clear,” Eugene said pointedly, smiling when he saw Bill roll his eyes.

 

“Why’d you gotta be so fucking responsible all the time?” Bill huffed.

 

“Figured someone around here ought to.”

*        *        *

_ Eugene’s Humvee bumped down the empty road which cut through the desert, following  _ _ at a safe distance behind the Humvee in front of them. Usually the Humvee would be full of chatter and bullshit and the occasional song but not today; everyone was much too tired to focus on anything except for the basics of their job. His eyelids felt heavy and every inch of him wanted nothing more than to collapse into unconsciousness but he couldn’t, not yet; he had to keep his eyes open and on his sector. What kind of luck would it be for a successful mission go to shit in the last hours because he fell asleep? _

 

_ Eugene stared disinterestedly at the rusted-out skeleton of a car through his scope; from the looks of it had been sitting there since at least the last war. If any enemy were trying to hide behind it, they would be easily visible to him. Yawning largely, Eugene took a moment to move his hand off of his weapon to rub at his tired eyes. _

 

_ Suddenly, an explosion went off a few yards in the distant, bringing the calm silence of the Humvee to a dead stop. As the vehicle skidded to a halt, kicking up sand and rocks and debris into the windows, he stared ahead through the haze of dust and smoke, looking for the other Humvee which was no longer there. _

 

_ Before his Humvee had even reached a complete halt, Eugene was already lurching out of the back with only one thought on his mind.   _

 

Bill.

 

_ Bill was in that Humvee, or at least, what used to be that Humvee. Now it was just a smoking hunk of metal flipped onto its roof, the front half almost completely twisted and crushed beyond recognition- soon to be yet another hunk of metal left to rust in the middle of a seemingly never-ending desert. Eugene felt like he was going to be sick. _

 

Bill rode in the back _ , Eugene reminded himself frantically. _

 

_ “Bill!” Eugene heard himself shouting as he ran towards the smoldering wreckage without a second thought. “ _ Bill-!”

 

_ “Whoa, hold up!” grunted a familiar voice behind him before a strong arm wrapped around his middle and pulled against him, bringing Eugene falling to the ground in a heap. “That’s enough outta you.” _

 

_ Eugene recognized the voice, even in his current state. _

 

Hillbilly.

 

_ “Let go-” Eugene grunted as he pulled at Hillbilly’s arm which was as unmoving as a metal pipe welded around his middle. “I gotta-” _

 

_“What you_ _gotta do is_ stay put _and let the Doc at it, alright?” Eddie growled into his ear as he strained to keep Eugene detained. “There’s nothing you can do right now except get yourself fucked up in the process, alright, Sledge? Leyden wouldn’t be too happy if he hears you got yourself hurt trying to be all brave.”_

__

_ Eugene heard the words but his mind didn’t necessarily understand them. How could he do anything except fight to get to Bill? _

 

_ He watched as the Corpsman rushed over to the scene but he didn’t seem to be moving fast enough. Didn’t he care? _

 

_ Panic ate away at his chest while Eddie’s calm voice turned into white noise in his ears. What would he do without Bill? What would happen if someone didn’t pull Bill out of that wreck alive? He couldn’t lose Bill too… _

 

_ He had to come out alive. He had to. _

 

BOOM!

 

_ “Bill!” _ he cried, springing into and upright position.

 

Everything around him was black and hazy, his eyes refused to focus on anything. He felt his heart hammering inside of his chest, his shirt sticking to his skin, glued in place with sweat, knew in the back of his mind that he was probably shaking from head to foot, but he ignored all of that for the moment. Instead Eugene brought his trembling  hands to his face and rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes; when he moved his hands away he watched as things slowly came into better focus. The room he was in was dark but he could make out vague shapes, feel the sticky humidity of the room, could hear the very familiar chainsaw-like snores coming from only a few feet away.

 

Still feeling extremely on edge, Eugene turned and stared at the dark outline of Bill, snoring as loud as ever from where he lay on the couch, completely unaware that anything was happening.

 

Eugene couldn’t say how long he sat there on the living room floor, staring unblinkingly at his best friend, but he realized, somewhere under the fog that clouded his brain, that it was definitely much too long. He couldn’t help it. He had to make sure that his best friend was truly safe and sound, that this wasn’t somehow another layer to the dream and he’d wake up in a world without Bill.

 

Eventually, his body craving its nightly hit of nicotine grew strong enough that it busted through the fog of Eugene’s brain and broke him out of his current mindset. Forcing himself up on weak legs, Eugene shakily made his way towards the kitchen door, pausing only briefly to grab his pipe box from where it rested on the corner of the kitchen counter.

 

Between the darkness and the disorientation he still felt, Eugene couldn’t tell if he was stepping out onto an empty balcony or if he had company; he didn’t bother to stop to investigate. His weak legs just barely managed to make it couch before he collapsed in a heap on top of it. Hands, still shaking, stumbled with packing his pipe; Eugene swore quietly under his breath when he let some tobacco fall to the ground.

 

Heaving a heavy sigh, Eugene paused and attempted a calming breath.

 

_ Breathe in… _

 

_ Twisted, smoldering metal… the unpleasant smell of smoke and fumes burning his nose… _

 

“Breathe,” Eugene whispered desperately to himself while he felt panic clawing at the pit of his stomach once again.

 

Eugene attempted to inhale a deep, calming breath, but all he smelled was the disgusting smell of burning rubber and the even more sickening smell of burning flesh...

 

It made him retch.

 

Folding over his lap, Eugene panted weakly while he kept his eyes focused on a crack forming in the concrete of the balcony; he was sure if he closed his eyes he’d be transported back there, back to all the sights and smells of that awful afternoon so long ago.

 

_ Breathe, _ he ordered himself _. You’re not there. You’re here. In Boston _ .

 

Eugene tried again but this time all he got was a painful wheeze.

 

_ Bill’s okay. He’s fine. _

 

_ Breathe in. _

 

_ You can hear him snoring away… _

 

_ Breathe out… _

 

_ He’s fine _ , he repeated to himself while he refused to move from his fetal position _. You’re fine. _

 

Still shaking, Eugene straightened up and returned to his pipe, repacking it and readying it with slow and deliberate movements so as to not waste any more tobacco. Placing the pipe safely between his lips, Eugene searched for Haney’s lighter. Between the sweat which covered his palms and the shaking which still rocked his body, Eugene failed repeatedly to light it.

 

“Need some help with that, cher?” asked a low, warm voice behind him.

 

Jumping in his seat, Eugene turned his head towards the sound and found Snafu’s Cheshire cat-like smile only inches away from his own. Eugene didn’t hear him come out onto the balcony, didn’t hear his footsteps, didn’t even hear the slight creak that was sure to sound when he leaned on the dividing fence. Any and all words stuck in his throat while his heart hammered painfully against his ribs. He knew Snafu wasn’t a threat, was at most an annoyance to him, but despite this knowledge he couldn’t help but feel like prey moments before its death.

 

“Sledge…?” Snafu tried after Eugene remained silent; Eugene watched as Snafu’s smile dropped slowly into something different, something concerned.

 

Eugene opened his mouth but no words came out, just a strangled sort of wheezing noise. Feeling embarrassed, Eugene turned away from him, and curled in on himself once again. Maybe if he had had a voice he would have asked Snafu to leave… maybe he would have told him to sit down next to him like he did on the fourth…

 

There was silence and then the creaking of the fence. Eugene waited for the sound of footsteps, for the rusted squeak to sound from Snafu opening the screen door, but neither of those sounds came.

 

A heavy weight dropped down in the seat next to Eugene, surprising him, forcing him to move his face out of his lap. He didn’t need to turn his head to know that Snafu had jumped the fence and sat down next to him. It wasn’t a totally unprecedented move but, based off of Snafu’s track record, it was still a rather unexpected one.

 

“You forget how that thing works?” Snafu kidded as he bumped his shoulder against Eugene’s; out of his peripherals he could see Snafu gesturing to his pipe, which now sat uselessly in his lap. “Or you done with it? Finally giving up your hipster shit, huh?”

 

Words still escaping him and mind not quite up to pace to properly react to Snafu’s unexpected response, Eugene instead chose to focus on the crack in the balcony once again.  He could feel Snafu staring at him but even in his state he could tell it was different than the way he used to stare at him, when it felt almost predatory. Tonight, however, he could feel the hesitation, the concern. It was odd but not unwanted.

 

“Sledgehammer?” Snafu tried again, voice quiet, unsure.

 

“’m fine,” Eugene choked out, feeling something in his throat come unstuck. “Really,” he added as he glanced at Snafu and found Snafu staring at him with an almost confused expression on his face now.

 

Turning away from Snafu, Eugene stared blankly ahead, mind still a painfully uncomfortable haze of nightmares. White noise started to fill his ears, a sure sign that he was slipping away again, making his feel panicked; he had to stay here, he had to stay in the present, he couldn’t fall back in-

 

“Freebie, Sledgehammer.”

 

“What?” Eugene croaked, sure that his addled brain misheard him.

 

“Ask me a question,” Snafu responded. “Whatever you want. Freebie.”

 

Eugene blinked, brain still not understanding what Snafu was telling him.

 

“Seriously,” Snafu insisted. “I know how people are. Know you’ve gotta have some questions but don’t wanna be nosy. So here’s your free pass. What’d’ya wanna know.”

 

“I don’t....” Eugene started, mind still struggling to process what Snafu was telling him.

 

Once the words slowly settled into his brain, he felt irritation, not for Snafu but for himself, for his foggy mind. Of course there were questions he wanted to ask Snafu, dozens he was sure, but in that moment his clouded mind could not come up with a single question he wanted to ask. His mind was currently a storm of everything he had just relieved and it was impossible to focus on anything in the present.

 

“Hey,” Snafu said, voice loud and sharp, bringing him back to the present. “Eugene.”

 

Eugene turned and looked at him, feeling something of an electric shock run through his body. Eugene blinked again and stared at Snafu as his face came into clear focus. He blinked once more and watched as the dark network of lines and shapes which covered his body sharpened...

 

“The tattoos,” Eugene said hoarsely, his tired eyes taking a full moment to really scan all of the visible markings across Snafus body. “How’d it start?”

 

Snafu nodded.

 

“Couple Years back. Was trashed as shit one day and wound up in a sketchy tattoo parlor in Texas,” Snafu said with a slight smile on his face. “Got my first tattoo and I was hooked. The rest is history.”

 

When snafu fell silent again, Eugene turned and stared at him; he had expected more.

 

“Thanks for that,” Eugene said flatly. “Really helped.”

 

“There’s more to the story, okay? I’m just-.” Snafu huffed before he let out a deep breath.

 

Eugene watched as Snafus demeanor shifted, became more guarded, more similar to how he knew him in the daytime. Still silent, Snafu hunched over in his seat while he lit a fresh cigarette for himself, his jaw clenched as if he were mentally fighting something. Eugene stayed silent, not sure what was happening.

 

“Burgie and Jay. They had plans,” Snafu started slowly, exhaling a cloud of cigarette smoke. “When we got out, that is. Burgie was all focused on getting Flo here and getting a degree. Jay went to his art school and did what he always wanted to do. I didn’t have shit to focus on. Don’t know why they all stayed with me; fuck was I a mess…” Snafu paused again to take another hit of his cigarette. “Like I said, one day I was really fucked up, in more ways than one… just wanted to hurt, feel as bad on the outside as I did inside, ya know? Wound up in that sketchy tattoo parlor and I got this.”

 

Snafu turned in his seat so that his right side was now exposed to Eugene. It took a moment for Eugene’s eyes to focus, between the low light and his still wavering mental state, but when they did he found himself staring at network of dark, twisting lines across Snafu’s right side and rib cage which formed a leafless, gnarled old tree. He wasn’t sure how he hadn’t noticed it before, considering how often Snafu ran about shirtless during the summer heat, but now that he saw it he couldn’t stop staring at it.  

 

“Tattoo don’t mean nothing, really. Just wanted something big somewhere it’d hurt,” Snafu muttered as he rotated the tattoo away from Eugene once again. “But it changed things for me. Yeah, technically I was hurting myself but something was being done with the pain, something fucking good came out of it. So I got more and more and then one day one of the guys suggested I give it a try. Figure I might as well, didn’t have anything else going for me. Actually took pretty well to it so those guys took me in and made me their apprentice. Wasn’t making any money still but it was giving me something to do, something to work for. Along the way Jay decided he wanted to try and Burgie and Flo were letting us practice on them.” 

 

“True friendship,” Eugene added. 

 

“Ya damn right or maybe they’re just stupid. Would you trust Leyden if he came at ya with a tattoo gun?”

 

“Maybe if he had been training for a while,” Eugene said, although in the back of his mind, he was sure if Bill came at him tomorrow with a tattoo gun and told him to trust him he probably would. 

 

“Would you trust me?” Snafu asked with a cocky grin before he motioned to the dark shadow of simple ink on Eugene’s shoulder. “Could use something to go along with that.”

 

“Ahh, maybe another time,” Eugene stuttered, caught off guard by the question. 

 

“What? I’m a professional. Don’t think I’d do a good enough job?”

 

“Nah it’s not that,” he said uneasily. “Just don’t have anything in mind for another.” 

 

“Uh huh. Sure,” he said skeptically as he stared unblinkingly at him. “Well, if you ever get the urge, could probably hook you up.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Silence fell between them as Snafu settled back in his seat. Feeling calmer, not exactly perfect but miles better than he had been minutes ago, Eugene returned his hands to his pipe and went about lighting it. As they sat there smoking, Eugene’s brain slowly chewed over everything Snafu had just said to him as his mind cleared. 

 

It was without a doubt the most personal thing Snafu had ever said to him. 

 

Eugene hadn’t meant for it to happen, hadn’t wanted to happen, should have known to rack his mind for another question when he saw how uncomfortable Snafu got. But he didn’t. And now he had to deal with the odd uneven shift he felt between them. 

 

“You know, you could ask a question too.”

 

“Ain’t about me, Sledgehammer,” Snafu said gruffly. 

 

“It’s not fair,” he said flatly; Snafu turned to look at him. “You didn’t have to say all that. You could have just ended it with “the rest is history” but you didn’t.”

 

“You wanted to know so I told ya.”

 

“Yeah and now I want you to ask me a question, so do it,” Eugene snapped, brown eyes locking with grey.

 

A smirk slowly crawled across Snafus face. 

 

“Didn’t know you could be so demanding,” he said, voice warm and low. 

 

“Just ask a damn question, Snafu,” Eugene huffed, feeling an uncomfortable heat form around his neck and chest.  

 

“The flowers,” Snafu said after another pause. “Don’t get it.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Just... why you put so much time and effort into something that’s gonna be dead in a week.” 

 

“Oh, so if it’s not permanent it shouldn’t matter?”  

 

“‘M not saying that.”

 

“Feels implied,” Eugene said stiffly before he felt a smile pull at his mouth. “Flowers calm me down. Always have. Even before everything.” 

 

Eugene felt the familiar lump in his throat that formed whenever he spoke of things like this but he persevered. 

 

“When I was younger my dad would take me hunting in the woods around our house. Even when we were hunting, everything about the forest and nature would calm me down, I’d feel at home. Spent most of my time in those woods around my house when I was young, even if I wasn’t hunting with my dad,” Eugene began quietly, thinking back to the countless hours he spent in the woods with his father, with his brother, with Sidney… he missed those times. “When I got out and came back home… my dad tried to take me hunting but uh,” Eugene paused while he felt the lump in his throat suddenly constrict his speech.

 

Eugene took a moment to hit his pipe while he tried to think of anything except how badly he reacted to his short-lived return to hunting…

 

A slight pressure to his shoulder brought Eugene back; it took him a moment to realize that it was Snafu, pressing his shoulder against his own. Eugene took another puff of his pipe before he continued.

 

“I wouldn’t go hunting anymore but I spent most of my free time hiding in the woods, reading or sketching or just… just sitting. Everything about it relaxed me,” he continued softly. “When I tried to go to school for a while, I started to study botany seriously but I took a break from college. Never quite made it back there,” he added with a hollow smile. “When me and Bill were trying to decide a business we could start up, something we could handle, - something  _ I  _ could handle -a flower shop felt right. No matter how stressful it might be- figuring out the logistics and bills and if we’re gonna break even this month -, the shop and the flowers relax me, keep me calm when everything feels like it’s falling apart.”

 

Eugene glanced at Snafu out of the corner of his eye and watched as Snafu nodded before he returned his cigarette to his mouth. He waited a moment to see if Snafu had anything else to say but when he didn’t, Eugene followed suit and returned to his pipe. Together, they smoked and watched the night sky slowly transform, not feeling as if another word had to be spoken, until Eugene felt comfortable enough that he thought he might be able to return to bed, a feat which Eugene wouldn’t have thought possible if something like tonight had occurred a few weeks ago.

 

“Goodnight, Snafu,” Eugene said softly as he got up from his seat and headed towards his apartment door.

 

“Night, Sledge.”

*        *        *

Friday afternoon found Eugene busily watering all of the displays inside of the store when he heard the bell on the front door behind him.

 

“Good afternoon,” Eugene called out before he sat the watering can down on the floor. “Can I help you with some-”

 

The words stopped once he turned around and saw who was standing in the doorway. Instead of a customer, like he assumed, he found Snafu, looking around the shop with mild interest on his face; it was then that Eugene realized that in the few months they’ve been neighbors he didn’t think Snafu had ever stepped foot inside of the shop. It was an interesting juxtaposition- Snafu’s dark tattoos and piercings against the soft colors of the flowers.

 

“Hey,” Eugene greeted him softly. 

 

“Nice place you got here, Sledge,” Snafu commented as he slowly moved further into the shop, eyes still bouncing from display to display. 

 

“Thanks,” Eugene said, watching as Snafu wandered around the shop and feeling slightly confused about his presence. “What’s up?”

 

Snafu turned around so that he was facing Eugene, ever present smirk on his face. 

 

“Was wondering what time you were gonna cut out of here,” he answered, shoving his hands in his pants pockets. 

 

“As soon as Bill gets back from his break I was gonna call it a day. Why?” 

 

“Wanted to see if you’d grab a beer with me,” Snafu answered, surprising Eugene. “I’m done for the day and could use a drink. By the looks of it you probably could too.” 

 

“Uh, I think I’m good, Snafu,” Eugene declined after a moment’s thought, feeling slightly odd about the request; it had never been just the two of them grabbing a drink after work before. “Why don’t you ask Jay or Flo?” 

 

“They’re all still at the shop. Gonna be a while until anyone else is off,” Snafu explained as he turned away and continued on with his slow examination of the shop. “You really gonna make me drink by myself? That’s just sad.”

 

“Maybe I wouldn’t let you drink by yourself if you weren’t treating me like a last resort,” Eugene pointed out, smirk coming to his face. 

 

“You ain’t my last resort, Sledge,” Snafu declared as he turned around to face Eugene once again.

 

“Who is? Bill?” he asked, still smiling slightly as he picked the watering can back up and resumed his work.

 

“Nah, I’d say probably the bum who sleeps in the alley way,” he shrugged. “Leyden ain’t even an option on my list; we’d probably burn down the bar if we went just the two of us.”

 

“Well then go ask the bum in the alley.”

 

“ _ Sledge.” _

 

Suddenly, a warm, thin hand was latched onto Eugene’s bicep, surprising him. Eugene turned his head and found Snafu now hovering right behind him. He waited for a moment for Snafu to say something else but when nothing came, Eugene’s eyes flicked back down to the hand which still lingered on his arm; Snafu’s hand quickly slipped away at the glance and returned to pocket of his jeans.

 

“Come on, I heard Leyden going on about how y’all got some big orders coming cus some old man kicked it. I know you got the money to spend on a couple drinks.”

 

“Oh it’s a couple drinks now? I thought we were only grabbing a drink.”

 

“The plans to start off with one and see where the night takes us,” Snafu said before a smirk curl the edges of his mouth. “So is that a yes?”

 

Snafu did have a point- he did actually have the money to spend a couple bucks on a beer or two for once -plus he couldn’t help but think about how a cold beer after such a long day would be nice. Knowing in the back of his head that Snafu wouldn’t let up until he agreed, Eugene sighed.

 

“Give me five minutes,” Eugene said tiredly. “Bill should be back any moment and then I just gotta finish this up really quick.”

 

“Meet you out front then,” Snafu said with a nod and a grin before he back away slowly from Eugene and exited the shop, leaving Eugene alone and feeling slightly taken aback.

*        *        *

 

“You’re late.”

 

Eugene turned as he took a step out of the flower shop and found Snafu standing against the front of the tattoo parlor, chain smoking as per usual.

 

“Uh, sorry, had to talk to Bill about a couple of things,” Eugene apologized.

 

“’m only messin’ with ya,” Snafu said with a lazy smirk before he pushed off of the wall and started walking slowly down the sidewalk; Eugene followed after him.

 

Neither one of them spoke on their way down the street but luckily there was enough noise supplied by the daily traffic to keep things from being silent. The silence, however, meant that Eugene spent the entire walk deeply inside of his head while he tried to come to terms with exactly what he had agreed to. When they entered the bar, it was unsurprisingly empty- it was only the early afternoon after all -which meant that getting their orders taken care of and snagging a table took all of thirty seconds.

 

Unlike the busy street outside, the inside of the bar was rather quiet, which made the silence between them much more obvious. Eugene wished in that moment that he had his pipe on him, if only to give him something else to focus on besides man sitting across from him. Feeling his anxiety being to bubble up inside of him, Eugene brought his cold beer to his mouth and took a long drink from it. 

 

“Thirsty?” Snafu asked, voice low and sweet, catching Eugene off guard; the bubbles caught in Eugene’s throat, forcing him to cough. 

 

“A little,” Eugene wheezed. 

 

“See. Told ya it was a perfect day for a couple cold ones,” he said as he reclined in his seat. 

 

Silence reigned once more at the table. Resisting the urge to bring the bottle to his lips, Eugene began peeling at the label while he tried to come to term with why he felt so uncomfortable.

 

It didn’t make sense, Eugene knew. The two of them had spent countless hours alone together over the past month, talking, drink, smoking, and just generally enjoying each other’s company. Now however, it felt weird, like unfamiliar territory, and he wasn’t sure how to act, which, in the back of his mind, was hilarious to him, because this was what a normal person was  _ supposed _ to do. He was _ supposed _ to grab a drink with his neighbor after work and bitch about the day. He wasn’t supposed to be fine with being chased out of his home by nightmares in the dead of night and then chatting with his neighbor over a smoke or a beer about everything except for why they were both out and about at that hour. Unfortunately for him, that was what he was comfortable with.

 

_ Because I’m fucked up _ , Eugene thought with a sigh before he gave up and brought the bottle to his lips once again.

 

“How was work?” Eugene asked after he set his bottle back on the table, keeping his eyes averted from Snafu.

 

“Fine,” Snafu shrugged.

 

Eugene stared at him when he didn’t follow it up with another comment or another question. He didn’t know how he did it, but Snafu had a knack for doing exactly the opposite of what you wanted him to do; want him to blather on and he’s silent, need a moments peace and he would talk your damn ear off.

 

Snafu’s face broke into a lazy grin, most likely because he sensed Eugene’s irritation.

 

“Like I’ve told ya, we’re busy as shit right about now,” Snafu began. “Bunch of spoiled as shit college kids coming into the city and celebrating the fact that they’re off of mommy and daddy’s leash. But,” he added before he took another sip of his beer, “clearly they’re still on their dime, the way they throwin’ they’re money at us. So I can’t really complain, no matter how many fuckin’ dumb tribal tats I gotta give these frat bros.”

 

“All business is good business, I supposed,” Eugene

 

“Yeah, you would know that.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“That funeral you scored,” Snafu reminded him as he leaned a bit over the table so that he was closer to Eugene.

 

“Oh, right. Yeah, the grandfather of the woman who runs the diner down the street. I saw him there once or twice; he was nice. Feel kinda bad-”

 

“Except you don’t really, cus now you’re gonna be able to pay your bills and then some. It’s just business,” Snafu finished flatly before that lazy smirk returned to his face. “So we should be celebratin’ good business.”

 

Without saying another word, Snafu slipped out of his seat and made his way to the bar. A minute later, Snafu reappeared with a shot of honey-colored liquid in each had.

 

“Um, I’m good thanks,” Eugene declined politely when Snafu set the shot in front of him.

 

“Oh, so you’ll go and do shots with Flo but not me? That’s kinda rude now, don’t’cha think?” Snafu pointed out, fake annoyance in his voice. “I already got the shots for us. Sad enough to drink a beer alone but to drink shots alone?”

 

“You would though, if you had to,” Eugene said as he gently nudged the shot glass towards Snafu with his finger.

 

“Yeah,” Snafu said as he accepted the second shot glass. There was a slight pause, one in which Eugene thought that maybe he had won the argument, before the smile returned to Snafu’s face and then the shot glass was set back down in front of Eugene. “But I’m not gonna haveta, right, Sledgehammer?”

 

He fucked up, he knew it. The only way out of this was to either play along with Snafu’s game or to get up and leave, which really wouldn’t get him out of the mess because he was sure he’d never hear the end of it from the man sitting across from him if he refused. With a heavy sigh, Eugene accepted the shot glass.

 

“There ya go,” Snafu chuckled before he raised the glass in a toast; Eugene reluctantly tapped his shot glass against Snafu’s. “Cheers.”

 

“Cheers,” Eugene muttered before he downed the shot.

 

Eugene exhaled heavily while fire burned in his chest, using all of his willpower to keep himself from coughing.

 

“See, wasn’t so hard after all,” Snafu said cheerfully as Eugene sipped at his beer, hoping that it would alleviate some of the discomfort he felt in his chest. “And I know your southern hospitality will feel all off since I bought the round, how about you get the next and we’ll call it even.”

 

“Fuck you,” Eugene muttered halfheartedly into his beer bottle.

 

“Feisty,” Snafu teased, leaning in closer to Eugene. “You know if you were so against coming out, you really didn’t have’ta come out.”

 

“Oh, I could have said no?” Eugene asked dryly, dully aware of both the alcohol steadily taking effect in him and that the proximity between him and Snafu had shrunk, but somehow not feeling concern over either development.

 

“You a grown man, ain’t you? You could’a said no,” Snafu pointed out before he flashed his surprisingly white teeth at Eugene. “Barely had’ta twist your arm, Sledgehammer. You may want a refresher course on the whole ‘playing hard to get’ thing.”

 

Snafu winked at him saucily. Eugene rolled his eyes before he reached out and gave Snafu a firm shove.

 

“Cut that shit out, Snafu,” Eugene huffed while Snafu laughed.

 

Feeling comfortably warm and relaxed, Eugene settled back in his seat, as he and Snafu transitioned into a comfortable sort of silence, one that felt more akin to the mood of their late-night meetings.

 

Once their beers were finished, Eugene got up and headed to the bar to grab another round before Snafu could say a word about it. As they drank their drinks, more and more  people filtered into the bar as more people got off of work for the day; in the back of his mind he wondered if maybe Burgie or Flo or Jay or even Bill would join them but he never brought the question out in the open.

 

Just like a few nights ago, the one drink Eugene had agreed to quickly multiplied and as Eugene returned to the bar again to purchase another round, stumbling slightly as he did, he closed his tab. Snafu might still try to pump a couple more drinks into him but at least this way he could be less complicit in his own intoxication.

 

A moment after Eugene returned to his seat, he felt eyes on him. Turning his head, he found Snafu’s face, once again closer to him than necessary, pale eyes focused solely on him.

 

“What is it?” Eugene asked, his buzz too strong now for him to feel any discomfort at Snafu’s behavior.

 

Snafu was silent for a long moment before he spoke but when he did, his words took Eugene by surprise.

 

“What got to you the other night?” Snafu asked softly despite the noise level of the bar.

 

“What?” he uttered, almost dropping his beer onto the floor; he had to have misunderstood.

 

“Something got under your skin the other night, something different than usual,” Snafu continued, untroubled.

 

Eugene’s fists clenched reflexively from where it rested on top of the table; what the hell was Snafu doing, bringing that up like a time like this?

 

“You usually get a certain way most nights but…I dunno. You seemed different.”

 

Thinking back to that night, Eugene couldn’t exactly remember how he was acting, but he remembered how Snafu reacted to him, how he had tried to start their usual banter and when the attempt fell flat, he seemed stuck, confused, concerned even.

 

“Was it the same thing that got to you on the fourth?” Snafu asked when Eugene remained silent.

 

“No,” Eugene answered, surprising himself. Punching Snafu, yelling at him, storming out and not speaking to Snafu for a while, those all were much more likely reactions than speaking calmly. He didn’t quite know why but something in him forced him to act differently, to do something he usually avoided. “It was about Bill.”

 

“Leyden?” Snafu asked.

 

“Yeah,” Eugene nodded as he met Snafu’s wide-eyed gaze. “When he got hit.”

 

“Didn’t know Leyden got hit,” he said quietly after a long pause, his eyes focused on the bottle in his hand.

 

“Not something he really likes to advertise,” Eugene shrugged. “And it’s his business so…”

 

“I got it,” Snafu said quickly; Eugene knew he did mean it. Snafu might be an asshole but he knew better than to ask about someone’s injuries

 

There was an awkward sort of pause before Eugene decided to continue the conversation. He knew Snafu wouldn’t speak a word of it, not even to Bill.

 

“Didn’t turn out to be that bad but at the time…at the time I thought the worst.”

 

Eugene’s mind flashed back painfully. He could almost feel the heat of the desert sun, the heat pouring off of the blown-up Humvee, could almost feel the sensation of Eddie’s arm wrapped around his chest, keeping him back before he dove into the fiery Humvee. Eugene squeezed his eyes as he let out a deep breath; he forced his eyes open, bringing him back to the present before he got sucked in too far.

 

“We were headed back to camp after we were out on patrol for a few days. Bill was in the Humvee in front of mine when it hit an IED,” Eugene explained flatly while he struggled to keep his emotions in check. “The Humvee flipped and the front of it just… luckily Bill was in the back when it happened. He-”

 

Eugene felt his throat tighten, cutting off his words. He patted his pockets out of habit, in search of his pipe and some comfort, when he realized that his beloved pipe resided safely at home. Desperate for something to distract him, Eugene turned to his bottle and drank from it until it was almost completely drained.

 

“The Humvee was on fire and Bill was knocked out. Hillbilly had to stop me from going in after him…But they got him and another guy out before…” Eugene paused again as he thought about that moment, when he saw the corpsman pull Bill from the wreckage, how he was filled half with almost crippling relief and fierce desperation. He remembered how he couldn’t tell if they had just pulled out his best friend or just his corpse. “Bill ended up fracturing his skull along with a bunch of minor injuries. Asshole beat us back to Pendleton.”

 

Eugene blinked and stared at the bottle in his hand; he hadn’t realized that he had peeled the label completely off of the bottle.

 

“The head injury… it heal right?” Snafu asked slowly. Eugene looked up at him and gave him a puzzled look. Before Eugene could say anything, Snafu continued in his quiet, serious tone. “Cus if it didn’t, I mean, it’d explain a couple things.”

 

It took a moment for the comment to sink in but when it did, Eugene rolled his eyes and couldn’t stop the snort that came out of him.

 

_ What a dick. _

 

“Bill healed just fine,” Eugene responded, smiling slightly. “Trust me, Bill’s always been like that.”

 

“Hmm, well I guess maybe it is a good thing his head is so damn hard,” Snafu grinned. “At least it’s good for something.”

 

As he and Snafu finished their beers, Eugene tried to sort through the myriad of feelings going through his mind. There was pain still, from Snafu bringing up the memory back to the surface, but it was manageable. Along with the pain, however, there was a lightness he felt within him, which allowed him to laugh; it was a completely unexpected feeling.

 

“Looks like you could use another,” Snafu said quietly as he gestured to the nearly empty bottle in Eugene’s hands.

 

For a moment he felt like arguing, telling Snafu he’d had enough, that he had only agreed to one beer in the first place but the idea of disrupting whatever odd calm had fallen over them for the sake of arguing seemed pointless.

 

“One more,” Eugene agreed with a tired sigh and small smile. “And I mean it, Snaf. Just _ one  _ more.”

 

“Twistin’ my arm,” Snafu said with a cheeky grin before he slipped through the small crowd of people and disappeared towards the bar.

*        *        *

“Was wondering where you ran off to.”

 

As Eugene and Snafu stepped onto the balcony, they found Jay sitting outside enjoying himself a beer, faded magenta hair shining in the dying rays of summer sun.

 

“Me and Sledgehammer ran off to grab a couple drinks,” Snafu responded as he sauntered towards Jay.

 

“Oh,” Jay said softly as he tossed Snafu his pack of cigarettes. “Would’ve been nice if you told me.”

 

“Sorry, Mom,” Snafu said sarcastically. “Didn’t mean to worry you.”

 

“Wasn’t worried, ya dick,” Jay said flatly. “Just would have been nice if you texted me so I could have joined you.”

 

“Ehh, meant to send out a text,” Snafu mumbled around his cigarette. “Forgot.”

 

“‘Forgot’ my ass,” Jay muttered as Snafu slipped inside the apartment.

 

“He said you all would be stuck at work for a while,” Eugene shrugged. “That’s why he dragged me out. Didn’t want to drink alone.”

 

“Oh really?” Jay mumbled, hazel eyes still staring at the screen door for another moment before he turned back to look at Sledge. “Whatever. Guess I should thank you.”

 

“For what?”

 

“Keeping him in line and bringing him back in one piece,” Jay explained. “I’m sure you’ve realized this by now but Snaf doesn’t exactly have the tendency to take it easy when he goes out for a drink, but he actually seems alright. Which is great because after this week I really don’t have the energy to take care of Snafu when he goes all out.”

 

“I didn’t really do anything, Jay,” Eugene said honestly.

 

“Whatever you say, Sledge,” Jay said with a shake of his head as he stood up and headed towards the door. “Feel free to not do anything with him whenever; it’d be a big relief to me.”

 

Feeling confused, Eugene watched as Jay disappeared inside of his apartment and listened to the muffled sounds of their voices as the two men spoke to each other before he turned away and entered his own apartment.

 

Inside he found an open pizza box laying on the kitchen counter with roughly half a pizza left inside. Without thinking, Eugene grabbed a slice before he continued on inside and settled down next to Bill on the couch, where he sat watching tonight’s baseball game with a look of utmost concentration on his face.

 

“Where’d you go?” Bill asked as Eugene bit into his pizza.

 

“Grabbed a drink with Snafu,” Eugene answered before he turned and gave Bill a stern look. “Don’t start.”

 

“Wasn’t gonna, jeez,” Bill mumbled with a raised hand, eyes still focused on the game ahead of him. “Have a nice night out without me?”

 

There was a slight pause while Eugene thought over the question before he answered, softly but honestly.

 

“Yeah, I did.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween was a night to remember... or it would be if only Eugene could actually remember any of it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone it's me~ back at it again with another chapter B)
> 
> learned my lesson from last time and now im just writing everyone on googledocs so even when my computer freaks out and emergency shuts down for no reason i wont lose all my work lmao 
> 
> also, quick life update: went to japan to visit my older sister (who lives and works there) and i got to go to hiroshima, which was cool and intense as hell
> 
> finally, quick thank you to may for looking over parts of this chapter and for everyone who read and reviewed last chapter :) thanks guys

*        *        *

Eugene wasn’t aware that the already unpleasant wail of his alarm clock could get any worse; waking up to the sound on November 1st, he realized how sorely he was mistaken.

 

“Oh my god,” Eugene moaned weakly as he was forced into consciousness.

 

The sound, which normally was enough to make his headache, now rattled his brain against the inside of his skull as if someone was pressing a jack hammer to his temple. Eugene forced his eyes open and almost immediately regretted the decision; the light pouring in from his bedroom window was painfully blinding to him. Unable to keep his eyes open Eugene had to rely on touch to locate source of his pain.

 

“Fuck,” Eugene hissed as his blind hand knocked several things off his bedside table; a moment later he reached the alarm and quickly muted it.

 

Relishing in the return to silence, Eugene pulled the tangled nest of blankets tighter around him to block out the morning sun while he attempted to come to terms with just how god-awful he felt.

 

 _Fuck, I am so hungover,_ Eugene thought miserably while he willed the world to stop spinning sickeningly.

 

His head was pounding, stomach turning, and his mouth was uncomfortably dry as a desert. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this awful and realized he probably had never felt worse- his experience with hangovers were few and far between so that bar was rather low.

 

Halloween had taken place the night before and, never one to pass up an excuse to have fun, Flo had organized a last minute gathering. The party flowed from Eugene and Bill’s apartment to the balcony and then to Jay and Snafu’s apartment; the cooler weather forcing the recent southerner transplants inside for portions of the night when it got too cold.

 

Eugene remembered that the night had started out calmly, with the four of them enjoying a simple evening smoke out on the balcony after work. The calm, however, was quickly shattered as soon as Flo came careening up the metal steps with Burgie following dutifully behind her.

 

_“None of you’re in costumes, why am I not surprised?” Flo declared in a disappointed tone._

 

_“We weren’t aware there was a dress code tonight.” Jay responded flatly. “Also, what the hell are you wearing, Flo?”_

 

_Flo was very obviously dressed as Wonder Woman, unabashedly on full display with her flowing red cape. Burgie at first glance looked relatively normal, the only thing that seemed particularly out of the ordinary was the pair of thick, dark glasses he wore on his face. However, after a second glance, Eugene noticed that under the white button up shirt he wore a blue shirt with visible hints of red and yellow…_

 

Clark Kent, _Eugene realized with a soft smile as he stared at the duo._

_“A costume, Jay!” she exclaimed, stomping one of her bright red, knee-high boots for emphasis. “Ya know, something you’re supposed to wear on Halloween? And here I thought you Americans were supposed to be into Halloween.”_

 

 _“Flo, you’ve been with us for the last_ eight _Halloween’s, how often have we dressed up?”_

 

_“Not a one and you’ve disappointed me every year,” she retorted flatly before a smile returned to her face. “No worries, though; this year I’ve come prepared!”_

 

_It was then that Eugene noticed the full bags carried in Flo and Burgie’s hands._

 

_“Don’t worry; this isn’t all for you,” Burgie joked. “We’ve also brought some decorations.”_

 

_“Oh, babe, can you start putting them up while I get the boys ready?” Flo asked sweetly._

 

_“Of course, darling,” he agreed before he started to unpack one of the bags._

 

_From within he pulled out what appeared to be several packs of fake cobwebs, a miniature plastic skeleton, and a number of other odds and ends which were probably on the discount rack at the cleaned-out Halloween store, along with several bags of candy._

 

_“You really came prepared,” Eugene commented, impressed, as he watched Burgie._

 

_“Halloween’s my favorite,” Burgie admitted, smiling so wide and bright he suddenly looked like a kid. “Flo really didn’t do Halloween when she was young, not really popular in Australia, but she knows I love it so she goes all out too, even if the guys never want in.”_

 

_“Not giving them a choice this year?” he asked with a smile._

 

_“It’s different this year,” he said with a shrug before he began wrapping the perimeter fence with stretchy fake cobwebs; Eugene quickly moved forwards to help him with the task. “You and Bill are here now. Jay was always willing to play along if she brought him something but Snafu…”_

 

_“I get it,” Eugene nodded; forcing Snafu Shelton to do anything he wasn’t interested in was almost impossible._

 

_“Flo’s got you pegged as a softy who’ll do as she asks as well,” Burgie said with a grin; Eugene rolled his eyes but he couldn’t exactly refute that point. “And she knows Bill will be more willing if you’re involved. That means Snafu’s suddenly the odd man out and will be slightly easier to convince.”_

 

_“Slightly.”_

 

_“Gene!” Flo called to him. “Come here!”_

 

_Eugene turned and was shocked to find the floor of his side of the balcony was now totally covered in bits and pieces of different costumes. Jay had disappeared somewhere but Bill and Snafu remained where they stood, neither one looking particularly pleased with the development._

 

_“I told’ya, Flo, I ain’t wearing that shit,” Snafu protested flatly._

 

_“You’re a pirate, Snaf, you’ve lit just got a hat and an eye patch,” Flo explained with a roll of her eyes. “It’s not that hard.”_

 

_“Why do I have’ta be the pirate?”_

 

_“You’ve already got the pirate earrings,” Bill responded while he fiddled with the cowboy hat in his hands._

 

_“Shut the fuck up, Leyden.”_

 

_“Gene,” Flo said brightly, turning to address him while the other two bickered as per usual. “You’re gonna be a wizard.”_

 

_From within the pile, Flo produced a pointy wizards hat, a plastic wand, and a long purple robe made out of cheap costume fabric. Hearing Burgie’s voice ring in his ears, Eugene accepted the items without complaint._

 

_“Thanks, Flo,” he mumbled, feeling Bill’s eyes on him as he pulled on the robe and the hat._

 

_“I ain’t putting this shit on,” Snafu declared defiantly._

 

_“What if I told you I also got you this neat sword?” Flo offered as if she was addressing an insolent toddler._

 

_“The fuck am I supposed to do with a plastic sword, Flo?”_

 

_“Hit Bill with it,” Flo answered with a shrug before she tossed Snafu the fake sword._

 

_“What the fuck?” Bill exclaimed._

 

_“Don’t worry,” Flo said before she started to dig in the remains of the pile and pulled out a long piece of plastic. “You can have this whip, cowboy.”_

 

_“You do realize this is gonna be disastrous, right?” Eugene asked her quietly as Halloween music suddenly exploded onto the balcony via the speakers Jay had installed last month._

 

_“Oh defs. I give it an hour before I have to chuck them into the street.”_

 

_“Alright, is everyone good to go?” Jay asked as he reappeared on the balcony dressed now in a tie-dye t-shirt with matching tie-dye headband and circular rose sunglasses; Eugene noticed he painted a peace sign on his cheek._

 

_“Just about I think. Quick question, though,” she added, suddenly serious, “which one of you has the booze?”_

 

_Now that everyone had properly donned an acceptable layer of costume and everyone had a drink in hand, the party was able to truly start. Burgie, Bill, and Snafu spent a good chunk of the early part of the party comparing stories of Halloween hijinks from their youth which quickly turned into a competition of who got in the most trouble as a child._

 

_“... when my Ma opened the door and saw me with that cop,” Bill reminisced with a shake of his head. “I’m sure I’ve still got the marks on me.”_

 

_“Well that’s what you fuckin’ get for getting caught,” Snafu said as he lounged on the couch, cigarette in one hand while he held a drink in the other._

 

_“Okay, that’s a load of shit, Snafu, I know you’ve been caught plenty,” Burgie snapped._

 

_“Yeah but my Mama wasn’t home half the times I got dragged home and the other half she was too tired to care,” Snafu responded simply._

 

_“How many times did the cops drag you home?” Jay asked._

 

_“Lost track. Couple dozen probably.”_

 

 _“Couple_ dozen? _” Eugene asked turning in his seat so that he could better stare at the man next to him; Bill let out a low whistle, impressed._

 

_“What else did’ya expect with him?” Flo asked, unfazed as she refilled his plastic cup._

 

_“I probably had a dozen or so. And my Ma beat my ass every time,” Bill answered, a hint of fondness in his voice._

 

_“I only had a couple but that was just because I was sneakier than you guys,” Burgie said cockily._

 

_“And the fact your ass got shipped off to military school, cutting your career as a neighborhood hooligan short,” Snafu reminded him._

 

_“You got sent to military school?” Bill asked. “The fuck did you do, man?”_

 

_“It was a long time coming- but I mean, the final straw was a little extreme-”_

 

_“Babe, you flipped over a cop car,” Flo interjected gently._

 

 _“You_ what _?” Bill and Eugene exclaimed together while Snafu and Jay snickered quietly._

 

 _“It’s not like I flipped over the car_ by myself. _I’m not superhuman,” Burgie reminded them. “You just get caught up when you’re young and doing stupid shit with your friends, ya know?”_

 

_“No,” Eugene answered flatly. “I really don’t, Burgie.”_

 

_“Anyways, there’s not a whole lot for a kid in rural Texas to do so you’re bound to get in trouble. Well, after years of this, my parents kinda got fed up and warned me the next time I fucked up I’d be sent to military school to get straightened out. I was actually doing pretty well after they threatened me… but, uh, then came Halloween.”_

 

 _“Just_ had _to flip a cop car,” Bill said with a fake disapproving shake of his head._

 

_“Halloween ‘98 sure was a doozy,” Burgie chuckled. “But who the fuck knows where I’d be if I didn’t listen to my dumbass friends that night.”_

 

_“How you figure?” Eugene asked._

 

 _“Pretty sure I only ended up joining the Marines cus of military school. Took to the lifestyle, at least for a portion of my life,” Burgie answered. “But then it’d just be Bill and_ _Sledge sitting here tonight if I wasn’t an idiot that night.”_

 

_“So, we just disappear from history without you?” Snafu asked._

 

_“Yeah. Without me y’all would’ve gotten your asses killed in the middle of the desert.”_

 

_“Oh, fuck off, Burgie.”_

 

Eugene remembered after that Snafu and Burgie bickered for a little before Flo distracted them with the suggestion of a couple games of Flip Cup and Beer Pong. After the games, they had settled inside to watch at least part of a scary movie, one from the _Halloween_ series, before they returned outside for smoking and more games. After that Eugene remembered he switched from beer to liquor and then everything that came next was hazy at best. The realization left a disappointed feeling in his gut.

 

Needing a distraction but still not ready to move from his bed, Eugene felt around his side table until he landed on his cell phone. Staring at the screen, Eugene was surprised to find a number of unread text messages waiting for him. Opening the messages, Eugene felt a wave of mortification hit him like a fucking bus.

 

Scrolling through the text conversation, Eugene read every gibberish, drunken text he sent to Sidney the night before. Scrolling to the beginning of the conversation, Eugene watched as his coherent sentences quickly dissolved into nonsense as the night grew on.

 

 _Definitely gonna get a call from him later_ , Eugene realized dully as he exited the conversation.

 

Flipping idly between the few apps on his phone, Eugene eventually settled on his photos and was surprised to find numerous new pictures there. There were some he vaguely remembered, like the one of all the guys sitting crammed in the living room, all still in the costumes Flo had forced on them- Flo had insisted she get pictures of them all in their costume -but there were more that he didn’t remember or recognize. Random pictures that held no importance without context: Jay and Burgie laughing into their red solo cups; Bill, eyes foggy from drink, surrounded in a fresh plume of cigarette smoke, while he gave the camera the middle finger; Snafu and him sitting close together on the living room couch, Snafu’s arm thrown over the back of the couch, both of them staring wide eyed at the camera in surprise; roughly a dozen different selfies of Flo in varying stages of drunkenness- clearly she stole his phone multiple times throughout the night.

 

Despite the pounding of his head, the unease of his stomach, and the muted embarrassment he still felt about drunk texting Sidney, Eugene couldn’t help but smile as he stared at the pictures.

 

Eventually, Eugene recognized that his chances of surviving the day would be greatly enhanced if he got some food and coffee in him, so he began the arduous task of getting himself out of bed; he was proud when he managed to sit up without vomiting. After shuffling down the hallway towards the kitchen, Eugene froze in the entryway to the living room.

 

Laying splayed out on his stomach on the living room couch, snoring quietly, and dressed only in a pair of boxers, was none other than Snafu. He couldn’t explain why but he couldn’t look away from the scene in front of him. It wasn’t like he had never seen Snafu this exposed before- the man went almost all of summer without a shirt on -but for whatever reason this time was different, made Eugene feel different. Wracking his brain for a reason for his momentary fixation, he thought maybe it was because of how different Snafu appeared while asleep. There were no scowls or predatory smiles, just quiet peace, something that he wouldn’t usually associate with Snafu.

 

“What the hell is this?” grumbled a rough voice from behind him.

 

Turning around, Eugene watched as Bill slowly made his way down the hallway, also looking worse for wear. He hadn’t heard Bill get up…

 

“Hey!” Bill yelled once he was level with Eugene, causing Eugene to wince painfully at the loudness of Bill’s voice. When Snafu remained dead to the world, Bill turned to look at Eugene, aghast. “Why the fuck is he sleeping here?”

 

“I don’t know,” Eugene answered weakly as he raised a hand to cover the ear that faced Bill.

 

“Hey!” Bill shouted as he moved towards Snafu and the couch.

 

Pausing momentarily to pick up an empty beer can left on the floor from the night before, Bill chucked the can at Snafu with perfect aim, which successfully woke Snafu from his slumber.

 

“What the fuck…?” Snafu asked groggily as he rolled slowly onto his side so that he could glare at Bill through half-lidded eyes. “This how you treat all your guests, Leyden?”

 

“You ain’t a guest! Why are you here? Did you forget where you live?”

 

“Nope,” Snafu responded through a loud yawn. “Burgie and Flo got too fucked up to get home so they crashed at my place. Assholes took my bed without asking.”

 

“So why didn’t you sleep on _your_ couch?!”

 

“Your’s is comfier,” Snafu answered smugly before he closed his eyes again.

 

Feeling his headache return to the jackhammer level of before, Eugene slipped into the kitchen and started preparing a full pot of coffee, which he planned on drinking almost entirely by himself. While Bill and Snafu bickered- _loudly_ -in the background, Eugene began eyeballing the worn paper menu for the diner; sure, it would be easier to just order food and have it deliver to him with no effort on his part, but he did just go grocery shopping and take out wasn’t cheap…

 

“I smell coffee?” Snafu’s voice rang curiously into the kitchen.

 

“We’re not running a fucking bed and breakfast here!” Bill yelled.

 

 _Why does he have to be so fucking loud_ , Eugene thought weakly while he tried to focus on the reviving scent of freshly brewed coffee.

 

“Drink coffee at your own place!”

 

Eugene looked up in time to watch Bill shove an armful of clothes into Snafu’s arm before he shoved him into the kitchen towards the exit. Looking very much like a one-night stand being kicked out of an apartment, Snafu stopped to send Eugene a trademark smirk and a wink before he tumbled out of the apartment and onto the balcony.

 

Feeling his stomach twist uncomfortably once again, Eugene grabbed the take-out menu and began searching for whenever he abandoned his cell phone; if ever were a day to blow what little spending money he had on take out, it was today. 

*        *        *

 _“Surprised you’re up and moving!”_ Sidney exclaimed loudly into the phone several hours later; Eugene clenched his jaw in reflex to the pain that shot into his temple because of his friend’s voice.

 

After filling his stomach with greasy diner food and several cups of coffee, his hangover was now mostly under control but he still felt a little rough around the edges.

 

“Yeah, I’m up. I got work I gotta do,” Eugene huffed, annoyed, as he made his way down the busy sidewalk. “Not just gonna stay in bed all day because I feel like shit.”

 

 _“Well I’m impressed,_ ” he continued in his unnecessarily loud tone. _“You’re not exactly young as you used to be and based off of all those texts you sent, I feel like a younger person would still be struggling to get by!”_

 

“Thanks for that high praise, Sid, now can you please stop yelling before I hang up on you?” Eugene snapped. “You’ve made your point.”

 

 _“Alright, alright,”_ Sidney conceded, voice much softer now. _“Just nice to know you’re having a good time up there.”_

 

“Yeah, I am,” he returned softly.

 

_“About time you started living a little. You never partied like this when we were kids. I gotta say, Eugene, I feel a little cheated.”_

 

“It wasn’t exactly my idea to start now. Just kinda got dragged into it by my friend who doesn’t know the meaning of ‘no’.”

 

_“Oh, so you’re saying I should’a been more aggressive with you all those year ago? Then you would’ve drank with us?”_

 

“Maybe. But also, it’s probably best you’re so soft on me because who the hell would have helped you home if both of us were hammered?” Eugene asked with a smile while he thought back to times of their youth when he’d accompany Sidney to different drunken escapades only so that his friend would have someone sober to get him home in one piece.

 

 _“Guess you got a point there,”_ Sidney muttered. “ _But who’s this friend who has these magical powers to get you to drink? I want to meet him and shake his hand.”_

 

“Her,” Eugene corrected. “It’s a her. Her name is Florence.”

 

 _“Hmm, checks out. You’ve always had such a big weakness for the ladies_ ,” Sidney teased.

 

“Okay, I seriously am about to hang up on you, you ass,” Eugene warned as he rounded a street corner.

 

“ _I’ll have to meet this Florence sometime,_ ” Sidney continued, seemingly unaffected by Eugene’s threat. _“Buy her a drink for everything she’s done to get you out there.”_

 

“She’d appreciate that,” Eugene said quietly, his brain drifting to some strange reality where his life in Mobile and his life in Boston somehow collided and Sidney got a chance to meet his new family; he could immediately picture Flo grilling Sidney for every embarrassing story he had of Eugene from their childhood and realized it might be best to keep his world’s separate.

 

“ _You never did say why exactly you had to drag yourself out into the world with a raging hangover today,”_ Sidney realized after a beat. “ _Also, isn’t your shop usually opened today? Shouldn’t you be at work right now?”_

 

“The shops open but we planned ahead and scheduled to open late today after Flo said we’d be celebrating Halloween.”

 

_“Always responsible, even after getting hammered on a weeknight.”_

 

“Bill’s manning the shop for the afternoon.”

 

_“So, what are you doing?”_

 

“I’m actually going to meet with the famous Florence right now. We’re grabbing coffee and trying to finalize flower arrangements for her wedding.”

 

“ _Ooh, you scored a wedding?”_ Sidney asked, impressed. _“Nice.”_

 

“Technically it’s her vow renewal but since they never had a proper wedding, they’re treating it like a wedding,” Eugene explained before he stopped in front of the front door of a quiet coffee shop. “But I’m here now so I gotta go.”

 

 _“Alight, well, glad to know you’re alive,”_ Sidney teased. _“I’ll let you go.”_

 

“Thanks. Talk to you soon.”

 

_“Bye, Eugene.”_

 

“Bye, Sid.”

 

The coffee shop was barely half full when Eugene stepped into the dimly lit building, which meant that it took all of three seconds to spot Flo’s vibrant hair. As he approached her table, Flo waved at him but stayed silent, her phone pressed against her ear. Eugene quietly slid into the seat across from her, immensely grateful for the fresh cup of coffee that was already waiting for him, and was taken aback when Flo suddenly held out her phone towards Eugene.

 

“It’s Ed!” Flo explained in a chipper tone when Eugene gave her a look. “Say hi!”

 

“Uh, hello?” Eugene said, fumbling with the phone slightly after Flo all but shoved it at him.

 

 _“Heya, Sledge_ ,” Eddie’s comfortable drawl greeted him. _“Hanging in there? You sound a little rough around the edges.”_

 

“I’m fine, Eddie,” Eugene assured him as he gave Flo a questioning look; she only offered him a shrug. “Why? What did Flo tell you?”

 

 _“She didn’t tell me anything,”_ Eddie answered with a laugh. _“But based off the video call I received last night from her, you guys seemed like you were having_ quite _the time.”_

 

As Eddie chuckled, Eugene felt a wave of mortification take him over as a memory returned to him from some hidden chamber in his mind. At some point in the evening, he remembered Flo yelling at everyone to say “hi” to Eddie; sitting in the quiet cafe, Eugene could hear his own drunken voice ask aloud to the room “ _When did Eddie get here?”_

 

“It was, uh, sure something, Eddie,” Eugene said slowly once he resurfaced. “Glad you could be a part of it,” he said dryly before a worse thought hit him. “Andy didn’t happen to say _“hi”_ too, did he?”

 

 _“Nah, he was passed out on the couch by then_ ,” Eddie answered. “ _Don’t worry, I won’t tell your secret.”_

 

“Cool, great, thanks, Eddie,” Eugene said flatly; when he heard Flo giggle from across the table, he shot her a look. “Well, I’m sure I’ll talk to you sometime soon.”

 

 _“I hope so_ ,” Eddie responded before Eugene handed the phone back to Flo.

 

There were a couple quick words between them before Flo hung up and faced Eugene; he couldn’t help but think about how brave of a person Flo must be if she still managed to smile so easily at him while he glared at her.

 

“Oh, don’t give me that pissy look, it won’t work on me; you do realize I’ve lived with Snaf for years, right?” Flo said with a wave of her hand before she picked up her own coffee. “It’s not like you did anything crazy like strip. From what I remember you were perfectly tame last night, Gene, you’re fine. Now drink your coffee, you look like shit.”

 

Knowing it would be pointless to argue, Eugene picked up the coffee and took a long, much needed sip.

 

“Isn’t the coffee here good?” Flo said brightly as she began pulling up a thick notebook from her bag; Eugene knew it was the one where she kept most of her wedding plans and ideas.

 

“Yeah,” Eugene agreed as he came up for air. “Never been here before.”

 

“Really? It’s so close to you, though!”

 

“I mean, me and Bill usually just make due with Dunkin if we buy coffee,” he answered with a smile.

 

“That coffee’s trash.”

 

“We’re simple people, Flo, we don’t need anything fancy,” he reminded her, which earned him a skeptical look. “So, have you decided on what you wanted for the wedding?”

 

“Um, not exactly,” Flo admitted sheepishly, causing Eugene to sigh; she promised him she’d finalize her choice of flowers two weeks ago. “But! I have good news! _Great_ news, actually!”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yes! So, I’ve been talking to Andy and Ed and Andy is so graciously letting me use his family house for the wedding!” she exclaimed, jumping in her seat slightly with excitement.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes!” she squealed, earning her the side eyes of several of the cafe’s occupants. “I was talking to Ed about how we haven’t found a good venue in our price and we’re stressed and I didn’t even think to ask him about it but Andy just offered! I told him I’d give him some money for it but of course he refused.”

 

“Wouldn’t expect anything less from him.”

 

“Right? But you’ve got to offer anyways, it’s just polite. I figure I’ll just pay to fix whatever my crazy rellies break,” Flo reasoned calmly as she returned to her drink.

 

“Seems fair enough trade.”

 

“But I’m so happy, Gene!” Flo exclaimed suddenly again, grinning brightly at him. “It’s such a perfect location. Just the right size and there’s plenty of space for the reception afterwards. And since we’re saving so much from him not charging us we can probably add on more time for the honeymoon!”

 

“Have you decided where you’re going?”

 

“Yeah; me and Rom are gonna go back home to Melbourne for a while so I can see all my family who couldn’t make it out for the wedding,” she answered with a softer smile. “It’s been _years_ since I’ve been home.”

 

“It’s been a while since I’ve been home too,” Eugene admitted quietly before he quickly changed the subject. “So, we’ve got the venue and since we both already know exactly what it looks like, it’ll be much easier to decorate.”

 

“Right? Saving time _and_ money.”

 

“You said you don’t know what flowers you want exactly but do you have ideas?” Eugene tried. “Maybe I can help you decide.”

 

“It’s just, I don’t mean to like, diss your profession or anything, Gene, but I just don’t really care,” Flo responded with a deep sigh. “Like, yeah, flowers are beautiful and I know they’re important but there are just so many kinds of flowers, Gene! Ugh, I feel like such a failure,” she sighed before she collapsed on top of the table. “I’ve had years and years to think this over and now that it’s time I just don’t care. I just want to have a wedding with Rom.”

 

“It’ll be okay,” Eugene assured her with a small chuckle.

 

“I’m sorry, Gene, you’ve been asking me to get ideas to you ASAP and I’ve been trying, really, but I’ve got so much other stuff on my mind-”

 

“Hey,” Eugene stopped her in the middle of her spiral by placing a gentle hand on top of hers. “I know you’ve been stressed out. It’s okay, really. Just take a deep breath and we’ll figure it out alright?”

 

“Thanks, Gene,” Flo said quietly as she placed her other hand on top of Eugene’s and squeezed it firmly. “How the fuck do people pick their flowers? There’s a million colors and shapes and sizes…”

 

“And meanings,” Eugene added.

 

“What?”

 

“Flowers all have some sort of meaning added to them,” he told her, which earned him a raised eyebrow. “Like how everyone associates roses with love? Well, all flowers have meanings like that.”

 

“Oh, don’t tell me that,” Flo groaned as she buried her face in her hands. “I don’t need another variable when it comes to my fucking flowers.”

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized genuinely before a thought struck him. “Hey, so, if you really don’t care what your flowers look like, maybe I could make some sample arrangements based off of some suggestions and you can tell me what you like and don’t like from there.”

 

“That’d be fantastic,” Flo sighed as she removed her face from her hands and took a long drink from her coffee.

 

“So, do you wanted a more muted color pallet or something bolder?” he asked as he pulled out the small pocket notebook he often carried with him from his pants pocket. Bill teased him for writing random thoughts and reminders in a physical notebook instead of his phone like everyone else did nowadays but Eugene wasn’t deterred by it; it was a trick he had picked up from his father when he was young and he wasn’t going to stop now just because it was no longer the norm.

 

“You know me, Gene. I love bold,” Flo said with a smile.

 

“Right, of course. Do you think you’d perfect having one type of flower making up the bulk of your arrangements or do you think you’d rather have a larger variety?”

 

“I want variety,” she answered confidently before her face fell slightly. “But that means I have to think of more flowers I’d like.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, Flo, I’ll take care of it,” he said kindly as he began scribbling on a fresh page. “Now…”

 

After about a half an hour of back and forth, Eugene felt confident that he had Flo’s style down and that he’d be able to create a couple options that would make her happy. As they gathered their things and exited the coffee shop, Eugene could see the relief evident on her face; it made him smile.

 

“Can I walk you back to the shop?” Eugene offered with a grin as he extended his elbow to Flo.

 

“Always a gentleman,” she said sweetly before her face fell. “But sorry, I’m headed home. Need a break from the noise.”

 

“Really?”

 

Flo was usually the _source_ of the noise around the shops.

 

“Well, no. Just need a break from a _particular_ noise,” Flo sighed, earning a raised eyebrow from Eugene. “I dunno why but Snaf’s being a real dick to me right now and it’s pissing me off.”

 

“That’s weird,” Eugene said. “He hasn’t seemed like he was in a bad mood.”

 

“I know right? Today I went into the shop to cover Rom’s shift cus he was still feeling pretty rough and Snaf told me to just go home, like he didn’t need me! I thought maybe he was mad at me cus I didn’t close the shop down well enough yesterday since we were in a hurry but I asked Jay to talk to him and he said Snaf thought we closed just fine. So, I don’t know what’s crawled up his ass but I’m staying away until it’s gone the fuck away.”

 

“Well, I’ll ask and see if I can get a real reason,” Eugene offered.

 

“No worries,” Flo said with a wave of her hand. “He’ll get over it and I’m not scheduled to work with him again until Monday so I’m sure he’ll be fine by then. But thanks.”

 

“I’ll see you around, Flo,” Eugene said with a nod as he stepped backwards in the direction of his apartment.

 

“Bye, Gene,” she said with a wave before she turned and headed down the street, vibrant hair disappearing into the crowd.

*        *        *

“Did you know that flowers have meanings?” Eugene asked suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that had been surrounding them for the past ten minutes.

 

He hadn’t had a nightmare that night, or at least if he did, it wasn’t a vivid one. Eugene had awoken with a start but didn’t feel panic or sadness; he actually felt like if he tried he might have been able to get back to sleep relatively quickly. Instead of sleeping, however, he got up, threw on his slippers, and headed outside as per usual. He knew Snafu would wonder where he was if he missed their usual 2 a.m. meeting.

 

He was right of course; Snafu was already ready and waiting for him, leaning against the perimeter fence. He had sent Eugene a questioning look- a brief assessment of Eugene’s mental and emotional state -before he held out his cigarette for Eugene to light.

 

 _“Maybe you should think of getting your own lighter,_ ” Eugene had suggested as he leaned in close to Snafu so he could light the cigarette sticking out between Snafu’s lips.

 

 _“Why?_ ” he had responded as Eugene moved to the space next to him, their shoulders brushing slightly in the process. “ _Yours works just fine.”_

 

“Huh?” Snafu mumbled, turning his head to properly look at Eugene.

 

“Did you know flowers have meanings?” Eugene repeated, thinking back to his conversation with Flo earlier today.

 

“Yeah,” Snafu answered.

 

“Really?” he responded, surprised.

 

“Course I do,” Snafu nodded as he took another hit from his cigarette. “Ya know, flowers at funerals mean ‘sorry for your loss’ and when some miserable bastard buys flowers for his wife it means ‘sorry I fucked up for the tenth time this month’.”

 

Eugene rolled his eyes in response before he stole the cigarette out of Snafu’s hand and took a drag.

 

“What? Am I wrong?” Snafu asked, grinning cheekily.

 

“I’m talking about symbolism,” Eugene explained as he handed back the cigarette. “Like how roses are so associated with ‘love’? Well, all flowers have meanings like that.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. I was explaining it to Flo early when we were working on her wedding plans.”

 

“Hmm… what are some others? Name any off the top of your head?” he challenged him, bringing his grinning face closer to Eugene.

 

“Sure,” Eugene nodded. “Like I said, people associate roses with love but really only _red_ roses symbolize love, at least the romantic kind. Yellow roses symbolize friendship.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“People don’t often realize color is important when picking flowers,” Eugene continued. “Like purple hyacinths symbolize sorrow or forgiveness while yellow hyacinths symbolize jealousy… white carnations mean pure love but striped carnations symbolize refusal or regret.”

 

“Any guy ever come and buy his girl some carnations and get slapped upside the head ‘cus he got her stripped ones?”

 

“I doubt it, Snafu.”

 

“Shame,” Snafu muttered before he held out his half-smoked cigarette for Eugene. “How do I know you ain’t just making up a bunch of shit?”

 

“If you don’t believe me you can go google it,” Eugene countered as he returned the cigarette to Snafu.

 

“Nah, I trust you,” Snafu said quietly. “You learn all that in school?”

 

“No,” Eugene answered. “Well, I learn some of it while I was in school but a lot of it… a lot of it I learn when I was young. My mom taught me.”

 

Eugene fell silent as he was transported back in time. He remembered how before his father ever had the chance to take him into the forest, back when he was much too young and too sickly to even consider something as dangerous as hunting, his mother showed him flowers. Whether it was the flowers displayed in vases around the house or the freshly planted ones outside the house, it didn’t matter, she’d take the time to name and explain them all to him...

 

“You still with me?” Snafu asked, his voice suddenly warm and low and in his ear, causing a shiver to run down Eugene’s spine.

 

“Yeah, sorry,” he apologized. “Rough day.”

 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Snafu said slowly, an odd look suddenly present in his eyes. “You were pretty out of it last night.”

 

“That’s what I’ve heard… from everyone I know apparently,” Eugene sighed. “Seems like you’ve had a rough day today too.”

 

“How so?”

 

“Flo said you were getting short with her today,” Eugene explained. “She thinks you’re mad at her.”

 

“I ain’t mad at her,” Snafu muttered, turning away from Eugene. “Just what happens when you’re with the same people a lot; get on each other’s nerves. Tell her to get over it.”

 

There was a pause between them as Snafu lit up another cigarette; after taking a deep drag, he passed the cigarette to Eugene.

 

“Don’t matter,” Snafu declared through a cloud of smoke. “Gonna be outta town soon. Get a break from her and come back fine.”

 

“You’re going out of town?” Eugene asked, surprised. “When?”

 

“Next week,” he answered. “Me and Burgie managed to snag a spot at the body art expo in Chicago so we can get a chance to really get our shop out there. We’ll be gone for a couple days.”

 

“That’s amazing, Snaf,” Eugene said honestly. “You must be excited.”

 

“I guess,” Snafu grunted, confusing Eugene.

 

“So… getting more attention isn’t something to be excited about?”

 

“Not that it’s just- ‘m not… not a fan of flying,” Snafu admitted quietly.

 

“Oh.”

 

“I mean, I don’t mind okay? It’s just a hassle,” Snafu amended his statement quickly. “I get airsick sometimes. Not fun.”

 

“Uh huh,” Eugene nodded, not convinced by Snafu’s sudden backpedaling.

 

“And security is a bitch with all my piercings,” he continued. “Either got to switch them out for non-metal ones or deal with being strip searched.”

 

“Seems like something you’d be into,” Eugene joked.

 

“Very funny, Sledge.”

 

Suddenly, the rusted creak of the screen door and an odd scuffling noise interrupted them. Curious, Eugene turned towards the sound and watched as Jay shuffled out onto the balcony, dragging several cumbersome items.

 

“Jay…?” Eugene asked, confused, before Snafu laid a hand on his forearm, stopping him.

 

“Let him be,” Snafu said quietly, eyes focused on his friend, who was seemingly unaware of their presence.

 

Eugene opened his mouth but quickly shut it once the question fully formed in his mind. He was about to ask what was wrong with Jay but he realized his error; he knew for sure that plenty of people would ask the same question if they saw him most nights out on the balcony and he also knew he wouldn’t be too happy about it.

 

“Don’t stress; he’ll come out of it when he’s ready,” he said while they watched Jay set up a full-sized easel and canvas. “We all got our ways of coping and this is just his thing.”

 

“He doesn’t do this often,” Eugene commented quietly before he motioned for Snafu to hand him the cigarette, just to give him something to distract him; he felt wrong watching his friend in such a state when he was clearly unaware of them.

 

“Doesn’t get this extreme, yeah,” Snafu said quietly. “Sometimes when I on my way out I’ll see his lights on, hear him working on something. But I mean, sometimes he just can’t sleep cus he has ‘too many ideas going on in his mind’ or whatever… but when that happens, he’s his usual self, ya know… something big must’a got him tonight.”

 

Eugene nodded before he chanced a glance back at his friend, who was still hard at work on the canvas in front of him. He had seen Jay set up like this during the day time before, hands covered in paint or charcoal, hazel eyes focused on whatever medium he was creating.

 

“He makes money on the side doing commissions,” Snafu added.

 

“Yeah, he mentioned that once,” Eugene nodded; a few weeks after they had moved in, Eugene found Jay working on a large piece on the balcony and he asked Jay about his work.

 

“Might as well get some use out of that art degree,” Snafu muttered with a puff of cigarette smoke. “When he makes stuff cus of this, without commission request, he’ll sell it on his little website he set up. He’s got a pretty good side business going at this point.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. And I think Ack Ack helped him out with it, of course.”

 

“Of course,” Eugene agreed with a hint of a smile on his face; it didn’t surprise him.

 

“‘Parrently he got Jay’s info to friends of his parents, ya know, rich old people with plenty of money to throw around.”

 

 _Typical Andy,_ Eugene thought as he accepted the cigarette from Snafu once again. _Just can’t let us go; even as civilians he’s taking care of us._

 

For the next couple moments, Eugene and Snafu smoked in comfortable silence, the only noise coming from Jay while he worked on his canvas. Yawning quietly, Eugene was just about to call it a night and head inside when Snafu’s voice, loud and clear, stopped him.

 

“How’s it hanging, Jay?” Snafu asked.

 

Eugene turned his head and found Jay staring at them wide eyed, as if they had just appeared in front of him out of thin air. When Jay’s eyes focused on him, he sent the man a simple nod, hoping he didn’t alarm him any.

 

“Oh,” he mumbled after a pause. “Hey guys.”

 

“Evenin’,” Snafu said while he raised his cigarette in a sort of toast.

 

“Didn’t notice you guys were out here,” Jay said softly as he averted his eyes back to his work.

 

“It’s dark, happens,” Snafu shrugged. “What’cha working on?”

 

“I dunno,” Jay admitted as he continued to scan over his work. “But I think it’s turning out alright.”

 

“Can we check out what you’ve got so far?” Eugene asked politely.

 

“Sure,” he shrugged before Eugene and Snafu walked over to where he was set up.

 

As Eugene inspected the soft, twisting lines, he realized he had seen similar marks other places. He saw them multiple times in the art pieces that hung up on the wall of the parlor and saw them embedded into people’s skin in fresh tattoos but he also remembered seeing a few hung up around the halls of Andy’s family home.

 

“Looks good,” Eugene commented. “But what do I know about art?”

 

“Don’t have to know about art to enjoy it necessarily,” Jay countered.

 

“That what your fancy professors at that school told ya when you gave them all your money so you could _know_ about art?” Snafu teased.

 

“I only gave them _some_ of my money; Marines coughed up most of it. And at least I went to school.”

 

“Oooh, congrats on your fancy piece of paper that’s been sitting in the bottom of your dresser for years,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Got anything else from that overpriced school?”

 

“Yeah, time away from you and free therapy,” Jay responded flatly, sounding much more like his usual self than he had moments before.

 

At the mention of therapy, Eugene couldn’t help but show his surprise on his face; he couldn’t remember the last time he had heard someone so casually bring up the fact that they went to therapy. When someone in his family mentioned him going in the past or suggesting he try it again, it was always done quietly, one on one, as if it were something that shouldn’t be brought out into the open.

 

“Yeah, I went to therapy,” Jay shrugged when he noticed the look on Eugene’s face.

 

“Oh, I’m not-,” Eugene stuttered before Jay waved it away, unbothered.

 

“It’s fine. I just went for a little while cus my school only offered so many free sessions. Probably could have used more but what I got helped me a lot. That’s where I got the idea to do this,” Jay said as he motioned to his half-finished work. “Painting or drawing when… when I don’t feel good. Gives me control when I feel like I don’t have any.”

 

“I get it,” Eugene said quietly while he slowly processed his friend’s words.

 

“And then you can take your little arts and crafts scam a bunch of unsuspecting, rich folk of their money,” Snafu finished with a nod.

 

“And whenever I do sell to some rich person, I always cover a couple of your drinks out of the goodness of my heart so I don’t know why you’re complaining,” Jay said dryly.

 

“Except I do know: it’s because you’re an asshole and can’t help but ruffle every feather in front of you.”

 

“Can’t argue with you there,” Snafu muttered as he pulled out his pack of cigarettes.

 

“Except that you could if you really wanted to,” Jay pointed out as he accepted a cigarette from the pack. “You’d argue with a brick wall if you really wanted to.”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Jay,” he said without any heat in his voice.

 

Once Snafu placed a fresh cigarette between his lips, he extended the half-empty pack to Eugene, who shook his head.

 

“Nah, I’m good,” he declined politely. “I think I’m gonna head in.”

 

“Suit yourself,” Snafu said after a slight pause.

 

“Night,” Eugene said quietly as he backed away from the two men.

 

“Night, Eugene,” Jay said.

 

“Oh,” Eugene said, pausing in his steps before he dug into the pocket of his jeans. “You’re gonna need this.”

 

With a flick of his wrist he tossed Haney’s lighter towards them; Snafu caught it easily.

 

“This mean you giving up and letting me have this?” Snafu tried hopefully.

 

“Over my dead body, Snafu,” Eugene declared boldly as he walked to his apartment door. “Jay, how about the next time you sell a piece, instead of buying him drink why don’t you buy him a nice lighter so he’ll stop trying to steal mine.”

 

“It’s a good idea. Snafu’s often distracted by shiny objects.”

 

“Fuck off, Jay.”

 

Chuckling quietly, Eugene slipped inside of his apartment.

*        *        *

His alarm clock woke him up again this morning but thankfully this time it was slightly more bearable. Yawning heavily, Eugene shuffled out of his bedroom and down the hall towards the bathroom so that he could start his day. Inspecting his face in the bathroom mirror, Eugene was surprised to find a visible layer of scruff on his face; it was not one of the most common occurrences in his life. Running his fingers over the short bristly hairs, Eugene felt something spark in his brain.

 

The sensation of his fingers running over scruff, it felt vivid, like Deja vu, but it didn’t make sense- why would something like this registered so strongly in his brain?

 

As Eugene began prepping his face for a shave he quietly cursed himself, Flo, and the idea of ever getting blackout drunk again; ever since Halloween he had been living with constant instances of Deja vu and partial memories coming back to him and frankly he was done with it.

 

 _It’s probably nothing_ , Eugene told himself a few minutes later when no new memory came to the surface.

 

Checking the time and realizing he was going to be late opening the shop, Eugene scurried from the bathroom and quickly got dressed for work, his previous line of thought dropping away as he rushed out the door.

*        *        *

_“You’re gonna fall the fuck over, Sledgehamma’,” Snafu laughed loudly from where he stood leaning against the arm of the couch._

 

_“‘M not,” Eugene slurred defiantly as he felt the world underneath his feet suddenly upturn, sending him stumbling to the side._

 

_Eugene quickly latched onto the perimeter railing for support before he was sent to the ground. He felt his partially smoked cigarette fall from his hand to the ground but even in his state he knew he wouldn’t be able to successfully retrieve it; when exactly did he get this drunk?_

 

_“Leyden’s gonna be pretty pissed with me if I let you tumble over into the street,” Snafu continued as he pushed off of the couch and moved towards Eugene._

 

_“I got it,” Eugene declared with a wave of his hand as Snafu closed in on him._

 

_“You sure?” he asked with a cocked eyebrow before he returned his own cigarette to his mouth for another hit…_

 

_“Yep,” Eugene nodded._

 

_Seemingly unconvinced, Snafu edged even closer before he latched onto the perimeter fence with his left hand, blocking Eugene from moving in that direction._

 

_“Somehow, I don’t believe you,” Snafu purred as he removed the cigarette from his mouth._

 

_“I’m good,” he insisted stubbornly, unaware that he was now leaning against Snafu’s left arm for support._

 

_“You wasted a perfectly good smoke,” Snafu accosted him, pale eyed focused heavily on Eugene’s face._

 

_“Good thing you still have yours,” Eugene said before he plucked the cigarette from Snafu’s mouth._

 

_“Wow, I’m here making sure your ass doesn’t go over the edge like Humpty Dumpty and this is how you repay me?”_

 

_“I don’t need your help. I’ve got it.”_

 

_“Oh, really now?”_

 

_In a blink of an eye Snafu’s arm disappeared from his side and with it went Eugene’s ability to stay vertical. With a yelp, Eugene flopped to the side but was quickly brought back into an upright position when Snafu gripped his left arm and yanked him back up._

 

_“Told ya you needed me, Sledgehamma’,” Snafu said cockily as he boxed Eugene in between both of his arms while Eugene laughed uproariously, gripping onto Snafu’s arms for support. “And you went and dropped my smoke too. What the fuck am I going to do with you?”_

 

_Eugene blinked and found Snafu almost nose to nose with him, surprising him. Mind completely blank and feeling almost as if he had lost all control of his body, Eugene reached out and slapped Snafu lightly on the face, his fingers dragging slowly against the scruff on his cheeks._

 

_When Eugene caught sight of the slightly shocked expression on Snafu’s face, a laugh bubbled out of his body._

 

_“Think you’re funny?” Snafu asked, his eyes locked with Eugene’s now._

 

_Eugene opened his mouth to speak but suddenly it felt as if all the air in his body had been knocked out him along with any thought in his brain. Unsure of what exactly was happening, Eugene stayed still as Snafu moved somehow closer…his hand, which had fallen from Snafu’s face was now pressed against Snafu’s chest... he could feel Snafu’s breath on his face…_

 

“Boys! _” shouted a loud, female voice from behind them; the voice was so loud it felt like an electric shock to Eugene’s body._

 

_“Dammit, Flo, what the fuck do you want?” Snafu snarled; Eugene blinked and suddenly Snafu was an arm’s length away from him, already fumbling with his pack of cigarettes again._

 

_What was even happening…?_

 

_“Don’t bite my head off,” Flo countered, annoyed. “Just wondering where you went.”_

 

_“Well we were out here trying to enjoy a smoke!” Snafu snapped. “Sorry we didn’t notify the babysitter.”_

 

_“What crawled up your ass?” Flo asked before she reached out for Eugene’s arm and gave it a gentle tug. “C’mon, Gene, Bill’s starting up some scary movie.”_

 

_As he allowed Flo to pull him inside the apartment, Eugene glanced over his shoulder and found Snafu with his back to them; his alcohol muddled mind already forgetting what he and Snafu were doing moments ago..._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! much appreciated if you send a review my way :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eugene's birthday rolls around once again, whether he wants it to or not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i broke my hand today by being an idiot so be nice to me and leave me a review... lmao you dont have to but uh, life update i guess. first bone ive broken in 23 years of life
> 
> thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chap and thanks again to may for making sure i got the most authentic aussie flo i can get :)

*           *           *

Monday morning found Eugene floating in and out of consciousness, feeling warm and relaxed. It was their day off from the shop, so he had no reason to wake up anytime soon, but he knew it was only a matter of time before something forced his hand.

 

“Hey, Gene?” Bill asked softly, pulling him closer to consciousness. “ _Gene_.”

 

“I’m asleep,” Eugene responded groggily, eyes still shut resolutely.

 

“I’ve got something to show you.”

 

“I don’t wannit,” he mumbled as he pulled his blankets tighter around him.

 

There was silence and Eugene, for a moment, thought that maybe Bill obeyed him and left his room. He was just about to fall back asleep when loud, rock music suddenly exploded in his quiet bedroom.

 

_“THEY SAY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAAAY~!”_

 

Eugene’s eyes flew open as a loud guitar riff rang close to his ear.

 

_“IT’S MY BIRTHDAY TOO, YEAH!”_

 

Springing into a sitting position, Eugene stared in confusion at Bill, who stood in front of him, grinning widely around the party favor hanging out of the corner of his mouth. Sitting on his bedside table was Bill’s phone, the source of the horrible racket which now filled his room.

 

“Oh my fucking god,” Eugene muttered quietly to himself before he collapsed back into bed, making sure to wrap his pillow and blanket tightly around his head in an attempt to block out the obnoxious music.

 

“Rise and shine, birthday boy!” Bill shouted before he blew the party favor as loudly as he possibly could.

 

_“I’M GLAD IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!”_

 

“You’re the fuckin’ worst!” Eugene shouted over the music, head still resolutely buried under his pillow.

 

“Aww, love you too, Gene!”

 

_“YES WE’RE GOING TO A PARTY!”_

 

“Wake up so you can blow out your candles!”

 

Knowing that Bill would stand there all day if he had to, Eugene removed the pillow from around his head before he started blindly swinging the pillow, pleased when he hit something solid.

 

“Hey, hey, hey! Watch it! You’re gonna burn this place down!”

 

Propping himself up onto his elbow, Eugene saw that in one of his hands, Bill now held what had to be a store-bought cupcake with what appeared to be an entire box of candles shoved into the top, creating a torch.

 

“Seriously though can you blow these out the wax is starting to melt onto my hand,” Bill asked.

 

_“I WOULD LIKE YOU TO DANCE! BIRTHDAY!”_

 

“Can you stop the fucking music?” Eugene countered.

 

“Fine,” he relented before he reached out and stopped the ear shattering sound. “Now blow ‘em out, birthday boy.”

 

“Only because I’m afraid we’re gonna set this place on fire if I don’t,” Eugene said dully before he blew out the small bonfire.

 

“You’re twenty-eight, Gene,” Bill said as he sat down on the edge of his bed. “Two away from thirty.”

 

“Knew you weren’t an idiot, Bill,” Eugene said as he started removing the numerous candles from the cupcake and setting them on his bedside table; he’d clean up the mess later. “You know two plus twenty-eight is thirty. Proud of you.”

 

In response, Bill whacked him upside the head with his other pillow. Setting the cupcake down quickly on the table, Eugene turned and hit Bill in retaliation with his other pillow.

 

“Alright, alright!” Bill said with a laugh as he dropped the pillow to the ground. “I surrender. Now eat your cupcake.”

 

Laughing quietly, Eugene reached out for his cupcake and took a bite from the portion he had managed to remove the candles from. It was red velvet, his favorite.

 

“So, what’s the plan for the day?”

 

“Uh, gotta go do some work sometime today,” Eugene answered through a mouthful of slightly stale cake.

 

“Gene, _we’re not fucking open today_!” Bill reminded him exasperatedly.

 

“It’ll only be an hour or so. I’ve just got to place some orders so I can start making arrangements for Flo to choose from.”

 

“Jesus Christ. Do you even know how to take a day off? ‘Specially when it’s your fucking birthday.”

 

“My birthday’s not a big deal, Bill,” Eugene said as he continued to remove more candles from the cake.

 

Even when he was young, Eugene really didn’t enjoy it when people made a big deal about his birthday; growing up, his mother always threw the most lavish parties for him every year, despite his wishes. His displeasure for birthday parties only grew with age and experience and now that he was an adult, he was able to finally celebrate on his own terms. Sure, he appreciated small gestures, like Bill’s cupcake or a small get-together, but he really didn’t need a party to celebrate.

 

“Come on, dude. Come out for _one drink_. You won’t even have to pay for it,” he tried. “Flo and the guys would be down to come out.”

 

“Okay, if Flo and the guys are involved it’s definitely not gonna be one drink,” Eugene said flatly. “Pass. Besides, I’m still recovering from Halloween.”

 

“Old ass man,” he grumbled as he got off of Eugene’s bed and moved to exit the bedroom.

 

“That I am,” Eugene said happily as he took another bite of his cupcake.

 

Eugene waited until he finished his cupcake, not the most nutritional of breakfasts, before he got out of bed. When he eventually made his way into the kitchen he found Bill brewing a fresh pot of coffee, still looking exasperated about Eugene’s chosen birthday plans.

 

“Don’t give me that look,” Eugene said as he pulled out the last two clean mugs from the cupboard. “You know I never want to do anything for my birthday. What’s there to celebrate? Twenty-eight isn’t exactly a milestone.”

 

“So what you’re saying is that you would be _open_ to celebrating a milestone birthday?” Bill asked slowly. “Like, say, your thirtieth birthday?”

 

“I guess,” Eugene conceded, realizing the flaw in his own logic.

 

“I’m already planning it as we speak,” Bill said, cocky grin spreading across his face as he poured out two cups of coffee..

 

“Oh, and if you really want to do something for my birthday, please don’t tell the others,” Eugene asked as he opened the fridge to grab the cream; when Bill didn’t respond, Eugene turned around to stare at his friend. “Please. If they find out I won’t hear the end of it.”

 

“Okay, fine,” Bill conceded. “Happy birthday, I’ll keep your dirty little secret.”

 

“Thank you, Bill,” he said as Bill exited the kitchen. “Really.”

 

“Just so you know, your thirtieth birthday is gonna be one for the books,” Bill called out from the living room.

 

“Wouldn’t expect anything else.”

*           *           *

Keeping his birthday a secret turned out to be harder than anticipated. All day long his phone rang and rang and rang with people hoping to wish him a happy birthday. First there was Sidney-

 

_“Twenty-eight! How does it feel, old man?_ ” Sidney asked cheerfully.

 

“Gotta be honest with ya, Sid, at this point it kinda feels like twenty-seven,” Eugene said cheekily. “But it is only twelve hours, so I think it’s a little early to tell.”

 

_“Well let me know if anything big happens, that way I can prepare for it by the time I hit twenty-eight.”_

 

“Yeah, you got about 10 months to wait.”

 

_“By that time I’m sure you’ll have twenty-eight figured out just fine for me.”_

 

-his father-

 

_“Are you doing anything special tonight?_ ” his father asked kindly.

 

“No. Bill wants me to go out and I’m sure my other friends would want me to go out too, but I’m just going to be staying in tonight,” Eugene answered.

 

_“Not surprising. I know you prefer your birthdays quiet.”_

 

-his mother-

 

_“I sent you a care package,”_ his mother said, voice a little stiff. _“I doubt it’s arrived yet, I didn’t get a chance to send it until Saturday…”_

 

“It hasn’t,” Eugene responded.

 

_Unless someone stole it from my mail,_ Eugene thought dully.

 

“But, um, thank you. You didn’t have to.”

 

_“Don’t be silly, Eugene, what kind of mother would I be if I didn’t send you anything?_ ” she said with a huff. _“Besides, a few people ever so kindly sent cards to the house for you, so I put those in  there as well.”_

 

“Thanks, Mom,” he responded softly, honestly.

 

-and even from his brother, Edward.

 

Eugene was downstairs in the shop, trying to get some quick work done on the frustratingly slow computer when his phone lit up once again. He almost didn’t pick up the phone when he saw the name pop up on his caller I.D., not because he didn’t want to talk to his brother, but mostly because he wasn’t sure how to anymore. Knowing it would only cause more trouble for him if he ignored the call, Eugene accepted the call.

 

“Hello?” Eugene answered, feeling anxiety rise from the pit of his stomach.

 

_“Hello, um_ ,” Edward responded, sounding slightly caught off guard _. “... happy birthday, Eugene.”_

 

“Thanks, Ed.”

 

Any and all conversation topics were suddenly wiped from his mind in that moment, leaving him feeling like a deer in headlights when the silence continued for far too long.

 

“How are you?” the two brothers asked each other in unison.

 

Feeling a flush come to his face, Eugene bit his tongue and waited for Edward to speak.

 

There was a time, when they were much younger and their lives immensely simpler, where neither brother would have to put much thought into it before they could figure out what the other was thinking. Despite their age difference and differences in social standing, Eugene and Edward were remarkably close growing up.

 

Like most relationships in Eugene’s life, their bond deteriorated once Eugene returned home, completely changed from the baby brother Edward understood and knew how to deal with. Unlike in the case of their mother, however, Eugene didn’t ignore Edward’s calls because they left him frustrated and angry, no, instead any conversation with Edward left Eugene feeling immensely awkward and hollow. It was such a strange experience, to attempt to have a conversation with a person who he used to know everything about, who was his first best friend in life, but who now might as well been a stranger to him.

 

Eugene had no fucking clue how to talk to his brother anymore and, based off of Edward’s stutters and long pauses, he didn’t fucking know how to talk to him either anymore. Unfortunately for Eugene, his brother inherited enough of their mother’s stubborness to not let their relationship completely dissolve in non-existence, no matter how forced and uncomfortable it felt.

 

_“I’m doing fine,”_ Edward answered after an uncomfortably long pause. _“Just taking my break at the bank, figured I’d try and call and wish my baby brother a happy birthday.”_

 

“Thanks,” Eugene responded while he easily pictured the forced smile on Edward’s face in his mind; every time in recent memory that Eugene talked face to face with his brother he always did his best to force a smile onto his face, always so desperate to keep the situation between them light and cheery, even when the conversation was anything but. “So… the banks still working out for you?”

 

_“Um, yeah. It’s working out pretty well. I just got promoted to associate branch manager this summer.”_

 

“That’s great, Ed,” Eugene said; he meant it.

 

_“Enough about me, today’s about you. Are you doing anything today? I know Dad’s said that you’ve got your group of friends up there now- which is really great to hear, Eugene.”_

 

“I’m not doing anything tonight,” Eugene answered as he fiddled uncomfortably with one of the pens left on the desk; he wish he could pause this conversation so he could run and enjoy a quick smoke that might calm him the fuck down. “Just… just relaxing at home since the shop is closed today.”

 

_“You always got annoyed with mom when she would invite the entire city to our house for your birthday,”_ Edward reminded him with a small chuckle.

 

“Yeah.”

 

There was another painful pause, one spent with Eugene struggling for conversation topics or a way out of the call. _Why did he have to tell the truth and say the shop was closed today?_ He could have pretended to be busy with customers or something.

 

_“Eugene, I-,”_ whatever Edward was going to say was cut short by the sound of a distant telephone ringing on the other side of the line _. “Shit.”_

 

“What?” Eugene asked, hopeful that maybe the way out would come from Edward’s side.

 

_“Um, my boss, he’s calling me, even though he_ knows _I’m on lunch and-”_

 

“It’s okay,” Eugene said quickly. “Take the call. It’s fine.”

 

_“Sorry,”_ he apologized genuinely. _“Happy birthday, again.”_

 

“Thanks.”

 

_“Talk to you later, Eugene.”_

 

“Uh huh, sure, Ed.”

 

Once the line clicked dead, Eugene let out a deep breath of relief while he sagged in the uncomfortable old office chair. Not caring that he didn’t even get halfway finished with the work he wanted to get done today, Eugene shut down the computer and all but ran from the building and upstairs to his apartment; he needed a smoke.

 

“Hey, Gene.”

 

Due to the unusually warm weather the city was experiencing this past week, it meant that Jay and Flo were enjoying their breaks out on the balcony that afternoon.

 

“Oh, hey,” Eugene greeted them, skidding to a stop at the top of the stairs. “Be back out in a sec, just need to grab my pipe.”

 

Eugene slipped inside and found the apartment empty; he’d figure out where Bill slipped off to later. After grabbing his pipe box off of his desk, Eugene returned to the balcony and collapsed on his couch with a sigh.

 

“You alright there?” Flo asked.

 

“Yeah, just, just kinda stressed,” he answered, keeping his back turned to them so it would be easier to hide his lie. “I’ll be fine in a minute.”

 

“It’s your day off, why are you stressed?” Jay asked.

 

“Oh, um, just trying to get some work done on that stupid office computer,” Eugene responded over his shoulder. “Probably would just be easier to do everything over my phone at this point.”

 

“I’m sure you could find something better than that brick for cheap,” Flo mused. “I’ll keep an eye out for one.”

 

“Thanks, Flo,” he said before he felt the slightly panic-inducing sensation of his cell phone going off in his pocket.

 

He was sure that if Flo and Jay were not there and aware of the fact that his phone was ringing, Eugene would have just ignored the call all together. After his parents and Sid and Edward, he wasn’t sure who else would be calling him; there was the chance that someone was calling him again or it was someone who never called him, a distant but well meaning relative who his mother slipped his number to, neither of which were particularly appealing options.

 

His apprehension was unneeded, however, because when he glanced at the caller I.D. he felt a smile come to his face.

 

It was Andy.

 

“Hello,” Eugene greeted him brightly, settling into his seat on the couch and feeling as if a great weight had been taken off of his chest.

 

_“Hey, Eugene,”_ Andy addressed him warmly. “ _This a good time?”_

 

“Yeah, I’m not doing anything.”

 

_“As you should; it_ is _your birthday after all,”_ he responded, causing Eugene to let a small breath of air out of his teeth. _“Happy birthday, by the way. That is the main reason why I called.”_

 

“Thanks, Andy,” Eugene thanked him, keenly aware of the fact that he felt Jay and Flo’s eyes on him now that he revealed who was on the other side of the line.

 

_“You successfully not doing anything for your birthday or are you getting dragged out to the bars by Bill and Florence?”_ he chuckled.

 

“No, I’m just relaxing,” Eugene responded, careful of his words so as to not tip the others off about the nature of their conversation. “Bill tried to convince me earlier but I managed to fight him off.”

 

_“Impressive feat. I remember Bill could be pretty persistent given the chance.”_

 

“I have the good fortune of being one of the few people Bill actually listens to. You’re another one of the lucky few.”

 

_“Unless it’s sports related,_ ” Andy corrected him.

 

“Asking Bill to have a level head when it comes to his teams is frankly asking a lot, Andy. The fact that you two made it through the desert in ‘04 with everything that happened is astounding to me.”

 

_“We weren’t that bad.”_

 

“Andy.”

 

_“... okay, we could have been worse,”_ Andy amended weakly, sounding apologetic.

 

“Eddie would have stopped you before you got worse.”

 

_“Very true_ ,” he mused quietly before he perked up and added, “ _Well, whatever you end up doing today, I hope you enjoy it or at least don’t absolutely hate it.”_

 

“I’ll try my best, Andy.”

 

_“Good. Sorry but I’ve got to run,_ ” he apologized. _“Football practice starts in a bit.”_

 

“Isn’t the season supposed to be done by now?”

 

_“Usually yeah, but we managed to make the playoffs this year,_ ” Andy said, a subtle pride for his players ringing in his voice. _“First time in about twelve years or something like that.”_

 

“Hey, that’s great!”

 

_“Yeah, they’re a group of good kids. They’ve been working their butts off this season; they deserve it.”_

 

“I’m sure it wasn’t just their ability that got them there. Good leadership is also an important factor in forming a winning team,” Eugene reminded him with a smile.

 

_“You sound like Eddie.”_

 

“Great minds think alike,” Eugene teased. “But you should get going; your boys’ll be waiting for you.”

 

_“Right. Well, I’ll talk to you later, Eugene. Maybe even see you soon,_ ” Andy said.

 

“Talk to you later, Andy.”

 

_“Happy birthday, again, Eugene.”_

 

“Thanks. Good luck with the playoffs.”

 

After they said their last goodbyes and the call ended, Eugene turned his head and was unsurprised when he found Flo and Jay staring at him curiously.

 

“What was that about?” Flo asked easily.

 

“Uh, ya know, just checking in,” Eugene answered while he brought his pipe to his mouth. “Saying hi. Nothin’ important.”

 

“Well that’s nice,” Flo shrugged with a smile.

 

“Oh, I thought it was because today’s your birthday and he wanted to tell you happy birthday,” Jay said, face completely calm and voice even.

 

In his surprise, Eugene inhaled incorrectly and ended up getting into a coughing fit, which became so prolonged that Flo ran over to his side to make sure he was alright.

 

“How the fuck did you know that?” Eugene wheezed, eyes watering while Flo firmly pat his back.

 

“This magical invention called ‘Facebook’,” Jay responded with a nod. “Tells you when your friends birthdays are coming up in case you forget. Or your friend is trying to hide it for some reason.”

 

_Fuck_ , Eugene thought while he let his head drop against his chest.

 

He had forgotten completely that Jay not only had a Facebook account and added him on it but that the man still checked the site regularly; Jay used the site as another way to promote his personal work as well as run the parlor’s Facebook page. Eugene, however, had stopped regularly using the site a while ago; he really only made one to begin with so that he could stay in touch with Marine buddies, mostly Bill.

 

“So it actually _is_ your birthday?” Flo exclaimed, sounding slightly offended.

 

“Maybe,” Eugene answered, knowing the game was over now.

 

“You fucker!” she cried, hitting Eugene a little too firmly on the back. “And you weren’t even gonna tell us?”

 

“It’s not really a big deal,” Eugene tried with a sigh. “Like, really, Flo. I mean it. Twenty-eight isn’t important.”

 

“What’re you talking about? _All_ birthdays are important,” Flo insisted.

 

“Flo-”

 

“Jay,” Flo said, turned to look at Jay. “How much you wanna bet Gene here hasn’t done shit for his birthday in years?”

 

“Definitely bet at least a couple drinks on that,” Jay responded, earning him a flat look from Eugene.

 

“You can’t just shut yourself away,” she continued to argue.

 

“I’m not shutting myself away. I just prefer a quiet birthday,” Eugene fought. “Besides, I’m still recovering from Halloween.”

 

“Now that’s understandable, Flo,” Jay conceded.

 

“You can have a relaxed birthday and still celebrate,” she reasoned before she aimed her classic puppy-dog eyes on Eugene. “Come on, Gene. You don’t even have’ta drink. I just think it’s a little sad to stay inside all day by yourself for your birthday.”

 

“First of all, I’m outside and I’m not alone cus I’m talking to you guys right now,” Eugene pointed out smartly before he sighed, feeling his resolve chipping away. “One beer.”

 

“One beer?”

 

“I’ll go out for _one_ beer,” Eugene said firmly. “No shots, no extra beers, definitely none of whatever the fuck you were feeding me on Halloween.”

 

“Jungle juice,” Jay informed him. “That shit’ll get ya.”

 

“Sure. None of that,” Eugene ordered. “Got it?”

 

“Quick question: are we all under a ‘one-beer’ rule effect or…?”

 

“I don’t care how much you drink as long as I don’t have to carry you out of the bar or break up any fights,” Eugene answered tiredly.

 

“You really think _we’re_ the ones you’d have’ta worry about?” Flo asked with a laugh. “But I promise you’re not going to regret this, Gene. You’re gonna have a nice, chill night for your birthday.”

 

“I don’t know if we’ve ever had a ‘chill night’ when it’s the six of us together,” Eugene said seriously.

 

“Well, tonight it’s gonna happen. Our birthday gift to you,” she said before she got up from her seat. “I’m gonna go tell the boys the plan for tonight. My break’s over anyways.”

 

“I’ll come with you. See if Bill’s down at the parlor or something,” Eugene said as he stood up. “He’ll be pissed if he hears from someone else that we’re going out when he was bothering me this morning to go out tonight and I told him no.”

 

“Bill’s gonna be pissed regardless,” Flo said as she descended the stairs. “That’s just Bill’s personality.”

 

Luckily for Eugene, his suspicions were correct and when they entered the parlor, they found Bill leaning against the front counter, messing around on his cell phone. Eugene could see Snafu in the back of the shop, tattoo gun humming loudly, while he worked on a customer; he kept his eyes focused on his work in front of him, not even pausing to see who had entered the shop.

 

“There you are,” Eugene said, forcing himself to look away from Snafu working so he could address his friend.

 

“What’s going on?” Bill asked.

 

“Could ask you the same thing,” Eugene responded. “What, getting another tattoo?”

 

“Nah, not yet anyways. Was talking to Burgie but he had to go run back to the office to make a call about something real quick. Why? Were you looking for me?”

 

“Oh, well, change of plans for tonight, Bill,” Eugene answered slowly before he turned and gave Flo a look. “I will go out for _one beer_ tonight.”

 

Bill didn’t immediately respond. Instead he turned and sent Flo a dry, annoyed look.

 

“I gotta say, Gene, I’m a little offended that you won’t go out when _I_ ask but you will when _she_ does,” he remarked as he turned back to look at Eugene, crossing his arms tightly across his chest.

 

“Are you coming or not?” Eugene asked flatly.

 

“Well fuck yeah of course I’m coming.”

 

“Oh, hey there, Darling,” Burgie said brightly as he reappeared from a back room. “Hey, Sledge.”

 

“Hey, Burg,” Sledge greeted him.

 

“So, babe, we have an emergency change of plans for tonight,” Flo said urgently, tone much more serious than what the occasion called for in Eugene’s opinion.

 

“Why? What’s going on?” Burgie asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

 

“It’s Gene’s birthday!” Flo exclaimed as she reached out, grabbed on Eugene, and pulled him front and center.

 

“I didn’t know it was your birthday, Sledge,” Burgie said, face softening. “Happy birthday, man.”

 

“Yeah, we didn’t know either until five minutes ago cus he didn’t wanna tell us!” Flo huffed before she let out a quick breath and calmed down slightly. “But, since it’s Gene’s birthday we’ll respect his wishes and we won’t be getting him maggot tonight.”

 

“That works out well since me and Snaf gotta be at the airport tomorrow morning to get to the expo.”

 

_Oh right_ , Eugene thought. _The expo._

 

Snafu had told him the other night that he and Burgie would be going out of town for almost a week to attend some body art expo but it had already slipped Eugene’s mind.

 

“Cool, well then we can head to the bar once you’re done here,” Flo decided breezily with a smile.

*           *           *

A few hours later, Eugene, Bill, and Jay headed towards the bar; Flo had texted earlier him to tell him that she decided to head over to the bar on her own while Burgie and Snafu closed up the parlor. When they entered the bar they found it less than half-filled and with Flo already holding down a table for them.

 

“Happy birthday!” Flo exclaimed as Eugene sat down in the seat next to her before she gripped his face and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I almost brought you a party hat but we’re being chill tonight so…”

 

“I appreciate it, Flo,” Eugene said sheepishly while he wiped at the lipstick mark he knew was now painted on his cheek..

 

“Do you want your beer now or later?” Flo said.

 

“Snaf and Burgie are on their way aren’t they?” Eugene asked as they checked the time; the shop had looked pretty closed down as they walked passed it on their way to the bar.

 

“Um, I think so. Probably not more than twenty minutes,” Flo shrugged.

 

“I think I’ll just wait for them then,” Eugene shrugged. “I’m in no hurry.”

 

“Well, I’m getting a drink,” Bill declared. “You coming, Jay?”

 

She was right. Fifteen minutes later and Burgie and Snafu entered the bar; they gave the table a quick wave before they headed towards the bar to grab drinks. A few minutes later and they reappeared, both with a drink in each hand. Unsurprisingly, one drink was for Burgie and the other for Flo but what surprised Eugene was that the whiskey and beer Snafu held in his hands were not both for him. Without a word Snafu set the beer in front of Eugene before he dropped into the empty seat to the left of him.

 

“Thanks,” Eugene said softly.

 

Snafu grunted something in response but Eugene couldn’t tell what. Watching the man’s movements out of the corner of his eye, it only took a few moments to recognize that Snafu had had a few before he headed to bar. Sighing quietly, Eugene turned away and focused on Flo as she began to speak to the table at large.

 

“So, now that we’re all here,” Flo started brightly as she raised her glass up in a toast. “I just wanted to say something quick: Gene, I’ve only known you a couple months now but you’re already such an important part of my life and an amazing friend and I’m so glad we decided to rent the place next to your flower shop instead of that other place across town. Happy birthday, even if you didn’t want us to know.”

 

“Thanks, Flo,” Eugene said quietly, feeling warmth rise in his cheeks.

 

“Aww, how sweet,” Bill teased before he raised his own glass. “Happy birthday, bro.”

 

“Happy birthday, Sledge,” Jay and Burgie said in unison as they added their glasses to the mix.

 

“Happy birthday, Sledgehammer,” Snafu mumbled, voice warm and so quiet Eugene doubted anyone else heard it over the rest of the din of the bar; it sent an odd shiver down his spine.

 

Eugene lifted his own beer and bumped it against the rest of his friend’s glasses. As his friends let out their cheers and yells, reached across the table to shake his shoulder or ruffle his hair, he couldn’t help but smile. Even if this wasn’t exactly how he planned on spending his birthday, he didn’t regret it.

 

They stayed rooted at the table for a while as they talked about anything and everything: business around the shops, Snafu and Burgie’s upcoming trip, the unusually warm weather, memorable birthdays- good and bad. A few times when people got up to grab more drinks they’d ask if Eugene wanted another but he always politely declined, a response no one fought him on.

 

Once his beer was finished, Eugene asked if anyone would be up for a round of darts; Flo happily volunteered and together they walked across the bar to where the boards were set up. Because of the lack of people in the bar, it meant that the dart boards were not in high demand which allowed Eugene and Flo to play uninterrupted for a few rounds.

 

Every now and again, one or two of the boys would come over and watch them, heckle one or both of them so they’d miss their shots, before slipping back to the table. After about an hour of this, Burgie, Jay, and Bill all came over, wanting to play for themselves now.

 

“Where’s Snafu?” Eugene asked, noticing he was missing.

 

“He said he was gonna go smoke,” Burgie answered.

 

“Think I’ll go have one myself,” Eugene decided before he handed the darts in his hand off to Bill. “Someone can take my spot if they want. I’ll sit out for a bit.”

 

Walking outside to the smokers area it took Eugene only a second before he located Snafu, cigarette in one hand with a drink in the other, eyes staring unfocused in front of him while he heavily rested against the exterior wall, as if he couldn’t keep his body upright on his own. Making sure to drag his feet some in the gravel so as to alert Snafu of his presence and not spook him, Eugene sidled up to Snafu, stopping an arm’s length away from him.

 

“Bum a smoke?” Eugene asked, eyes focused on Snafu

 

Silently, Snafu placed his cigarette between his lips to free up one of his hands before he pulled his almost empty pack and handed it to Eugene. Inside the crumpled wrapper Eugene found a plastic lighter with half the colored paint scratched off.

 

“Hey, finally got your own lighter?” Eugene teased, hoping to lighten the mood and whatever funk was surrounding his friend.

 

“Nah,” Snafu responded gruffly after a pause. “Swiped it from Jay. He always just has all these lighters lying around the place, even though he don’t smoke all that much anymore. Think he picks up loose ones he finds on the street instead of ever buying one for himself.”

 

“He’s savey,” Eugene commented as he handed the pack and lighter back to Snafu.

 

When Snafu didn’t respond, Eugene let them fall into a semi-comfortable silence for a few minutes while they smoked side by side. He knew there was something bothering his friend, he just wasn’t sure what it could be. He remembered Snafu said he wasn’t fond of flying but Eugene wasn’t sure if his level of displeasure over air travel would be enough to give him such a prickly demeanor.

 

“Hey, are you okay?” Eugene asked. “You seem kinda… out of it.”

 

“‘M fine,” Snafu grunted before he brought his glass to his lips and drained it easily in a large gulp.

 

While a lot of things about Snafu were still a mystery to Eugene he was certain about a couple things, one of which was that when Snafu wanted to talk he wouldn’t shut up and when Snafu didn’t want to talk he could be as tight-lipped as they came. Recognizing that this was a case of the latter, Eugene gave up and resigned himself to finish his cigarette in silence-

 

“Why didn’t you say it was your birthday?” Snafu slurred suddenly.

 

Surprised, Eugene turned and jumped slightly when he found Snafu’s pale, glassy eyes staring directly at him. Eugene felt the bottom of his stomach fall uncomfortably, rattling him even more.

 

“Didn’t think that it mattered. Didn’t want to make a big deal about it,” Eugene answered with a shrug. “Not some milestone birthday, just made it another year.”

 

Eyes still locked on Eugene, Snafu’s glassy expression cracked as a small smirk twisted the corner of his lips.

 

“All the horseshit we been through, you really think makin’ it ‘nother year ain’t shit?”

 

Eugene was taken aback.

 

Out of all of the many surprising aspects of Snafu Eugene knew so far, perhaps the most startling was his ability to occasionally stop Eugene in his tracks with his words. Snafu wasn’t the most eloquent person alive, a fact Snafu himself was probably keenly aware of, but whenever he said something of actual meaning, there was a wisdom there that surprised Eugene. It was just yet another layer to Snafu that Eugene was still trying to figure out.

 

Bringing his cigarette to his lips, Snafu took a long drag before he let the smouldering bud fall to the ground and crushed it under the heel of his boot. Pushing off the wall, Snafu swayed slightly as he moved around Eugene towards the door.

 

“You comin’, birthday boy?” Snafu drawled.

 

“Yeah,” Eugene responded before he brought the cigarette to his lips and took a long drag until it was almost down to the filter.

 

Copying Snafu’s movement and crushing the cigarette under his foot, Eugene followed Snafu back into the noisy bar.

 

When he had left his friends a few minutes ago they had seemed in good condition but as he and Snafu reunited with them, Eugene found them teetering towards drunk. In their absence either the alcohol hit suddenly or they decided to take a round or three of shots; frankly, Eugene wouldn’t have been surprised if it were the second option.

 

“What the hell did I miss?” Eugene asked as he rejoined the group, watching as Flo and Jay laughed over seemingly nothing.

 

“Just the usual: shots,” Burgie answered as he sipped his beer; he seemed like the most sober of the group. “I only had one. Someone’s gotta be able to wake up on time tomorrow to make sure we make our flight.”

 

A moment later and Snafu reappeared with a fresh drink in hand that he definitely didn’t need; Eugene hadn’t even noticed him slip away.

 

“Whoops,” Snafu slurred as he bumped into Eugene; his depth perception lost after a dozen drinks.

 

As Eugene reached out to place steadying hands on Snafu’s bicep and wrist, he felt liquid splash out of Snafu’s glass and onto his hand.

 

“You good? You do remember you have to be up tomorrow morning to catch a flight,” Eugene reminded him slowly, looking into his eyes and finding them unfocused and glassy.

 

“‘ll sleep it off on the flight,” Snafu answered, unconcerned.

 

“Still. Maybe you should stop,” Eugene suggested, wondering in the back of his head how much of this Snafu would remember tomorrow.

 

“Nah. If you’re not gonna get drunk tonight, someone oughta. In celebration of you, ya know,” he said before he raised his glass slightly, as if to toast him again.

 

“Maybe you guys should have coordinated who was gonna take the bullet ‘cus it looks like you’re all trying to celebrate me that way,” Eugene commented as he turned away to watch his friends again, now collapsed at a nearby table.

 

“Should’a told me your birthday was coming up,” Snafu murmured.

 

“I told you it’s not a big deal to me, it never has,” Eugene sighed, quietly aware in the back of his head that he was still holding onto Snafu, even if he seemed relatively stable on his feet at the moment. “Even when I was young.”

 

“Would’a got you somethin’,” he continued, surprising Eugene once again.

 

“You got me a beer.” Eugene reminded him. “It’s fine.”

 

“Getchu somethin’ when I get back,” Snafu mumbled, sounding more like he was talking to himself than to Eugene.

 

“Hey, um, Burgie?” Eugene called out over his shoulder, thankful when he quickly caught the man’s attention. “Think we should round these guys up and get them home.”

 

“Good call,” Burgie agreed.

 

It only took a matter of minutes for Burgie and Eugene to round up their friends and get them all to close their tabs. Unfortunately, Eugene realized that getting them out of the bar was the easy part; the real challenge would be getting all their friends home safely and in one piece.

 

Less than a block down the street and their group quickly fractured into three sub-groups. Flo and Burgie took the lead after Flo decided the best way to get back home was to to sprint down the sidewalk; Burgie quickly wrangled her back into a more manageable speed, but, with her long legs, it still meant that they pulled far ahead of the others. Bill and Jay made up the middle of the pack, both coherent enough levels of drunk that they were able to stumble back to the apartments relatively unsupervised. Bringing up the rear were Eugene and Snafu.

 

When they first departed from the bar, Eugene walked with Jay and Bill but quickly he noticed Snafu falling farther and farther behind them, his stumbling much more pronounced than anyone else’s. Knowing Snafu would either hurt himself or wonder off if unattended in his current state, Eugene fell back to walk at a shuffling pace with his friend. After Snafu almost teetered into the street three times within one block, Eugene sighed and linked his left arm with Snafu’s right arm to keep him safely on the sidewalk. For whatever reason, this move caused Snafu to snicker.

 

“What’s so funny?” Eugene asked, eyes focused on Bill and Jay’s backs a half a block in front of them.

 

“Payback. For Halloween,” Snafu giggled. “When I had’ta take care of you.”

 

Eugene sighed while he felt his face flush. He wondered dully how long it would take for that stupid night to blow over. Knowing Snafu, Eugene was sure he would never let it go.

 

“Shut up before I leave you in the gutter,” Eugene threatened flatly, which only caused Snafu to chuckle again.

 

Three blocks later and Eugene and Snafu were rounding the corner of their storefronts. After dragging Snafu up the back steps, he found Bill and Jay enjoying a final cigarette of the night.

 

“Finally,” Bill complained from where he sat on the couch. “Thought you’d never get back.”

 

“We were right behind you,” Eugene said as Snafu collapsed on the couch next to Bill, to his mild annoyance. “Don’t be so dramatic, Bill.”

 

“Shit, it’s already past midnight,” Jay groaned as he checked the time. “I gotta be ready to leave by seven to take them to the airport in the morning.”

 

“I gotta be up to open in like five hours to open,” Bill groaned. “Fuck me.”

 

“Not even if you paid me a million bucks, Leyden,” Snafu grunted.

 

“You couldn’t pay me _two_ million for me to fuck your scrawny ass.”

 

“Okay, enough of that,” Eugene said quickly, cutting them off before it could escalate. “First off, let me just remind you that y’all were the ones who wanted to go out so badly tonight. Secondly, it’s only gonna be worse the later you stay up so maybe you should cut your losses and go to sleep.”

 

“You’ve got a point,” Jay yawned before he started towards his apartment door. “Snafu, if you’re not conscious in the morning I’m just going to have the airline check you as luggage. I’m sure Burgie would enjoy a flight where he didn’t have to hold your hand.”

 

“Fuck you, Jay, I get airsick,” Snafu snapped.

 

“Sure, let’s call it that,” he said before he slipped inside.

 

“That’s my cue,” Bill mumbled as he added his cigarette bud to the coffee can they had been using as a makeshift ashtray. “Night, Gene.”

 

“Night,” Eugene responded. He waited until Bill entered the apartment before he turned and faced Snafu. “Do you need help getting inside.”

 

Snafu shook his head.

 

“Gimme your phone,” he ordered.

 

“Pardon?” he asked, bewildered.

 

“‘Not gonna do anythin’ bad,” he said with a shake of his head. “Jus’ gimme… jus’ trust me, Sledgehamma’.”

 

All logic said that Eugene should shove Snafu off to bed and keep his phone safely in his pocket but for whatever reason, Eugene found himself digging the phone out and tossing it to Snafu. He had to admit he was a little curious about why the hell Snafu needed his phone and he knew if worse came to worse he would definitely be able to take Snafu while he was in this state.

 

Nothing worrying happened; Snafu merely fumbled with the phone for a minute before he tossed it back to Eugene, seemingly unharmed.

 

“Should I be worried?” Eugene joked as Snafu pushed himself slowly onto unsteady feet.

 

“Not like I put a bomb in it,” Snafu muttered as he shuffled towards his apartment door. “Relax.”

 

Eugene glanced at his phone screen quickly and found nothing obviously changed.

 

“Hey, um, have a good trip,” Eugene called out to him as Snafu reached the door; Snafu gave him a half-hearted wave in response before he disappeared in his apartment.

 

Eugene turned toward his apartment door when his phone vibrated shortly in his hand. Staring at the screen he found a text from a number he didn’t recognize. Opening the conversation he found two new texts, one outgoing and one incoming.

 

**< < Sledge**

 

**> >Snafu**

 

Smiling softly, Eugene quickly added the new contact to his phone before he entered his apartment and went to bed, feeling oddly light.

*           *           *

The next day around the shops was noticeably quieter, not only because Burgie and Snafu were missing but because Flo and Jay couldn’t really stop and talk for much of the day as they were both pulling double duty. During his lunch break, Eugene bought a much appreciated round of coffee for them while Flo updated him on Snafu and Burgie; apparently they arrived safely in Chicago and were planning on seeing some of the city later.

 

The quietness of the morning was offset slightly when Jay joined Bill and Eugene at their place for dinner and to watch the basketball game. Eugene was thankful that baseball was finally done for the season and that Bill much less passionate when it came to basketball. He still rooted for the Knicks and booed at the Celtics out of nature but the stakes were much lower, which meant that things were much calmer around the apartment regardless of who was playing.

 

Recognizing that he had to open tomorrow, Eugene decided to call it a night halfway through the third quarter. Feeling oddly exhausted despite the quiet day he had, Eugene happily collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep quickly, despite the noise coming from the living room...

 

_CRASH!_

 

Eugene sprung up from his bed, heart pounding, while his disorientated brain tried to place where he was, what time it was, if the noise happened in his mind or somewhere else… Eugene blinked and was confused when the darkness of the room stayed; it felt as if he had just closed his eyes but staring at the clock on his bedside table he saw that it was just after three in the morning.

 

His heart eventually slowed to a calm and steady rhythm but there was an uneasiness that stayed in his chest that he couldn’t shake. Without a seconds thought, Eugene got up from his bed, pulled on his slippers and hoodie and grabbed his piped before he shuffled out onto the balcony. He was surprised to find it empty.

 

_He’s not here_ , Eugene reminded himself after a beat.

 

For a moment Eugene considered going back to bed- it felt odd to be out here by himself now, almost sad even -but his body’s need for a dose of nicotine forced him to stay outside long enough for him to smoke. As soon as he was finished, Eugene quickly cleaned the pipe before he returned back inside and drifted in and out of consciousness until his alarm woke him up to start his day.

 

The next day was much of the same as the day before, however now Eugene was much more aware of the silence around the shops, even though it wasn’t too long ago that the quiet was Eugene’s normal. He kept himself busy though, spent his break bringing Jay and Flo much needed caffeine to get them through their long day, and made a lot of progress on his arrangements for Flo. The real difference came that night when he retired to his bedroom and found himself lying awake for hours before he fell into a restless sleep.

 

Halfway through the night, Eugene woke with a start from half-formed nightmare in his mind which left him slightly shaken and very much wide awake. Recognizing it would be pointless to try and sleep right now, Eugene gathered his things and headed outside.

 

As Eugene readied his pipe, he couldn’t help but think about how tonight was a night he really wished Snafu was here to keep him company in the early morning hours; his restless mind needed a distraction and right now nothing sounded better than Snafu’s aimless rambles and complaints of the day. Suddenly, a thought came to Eugene. Setting his pipe down carefully, Eugene ran back inside and grabbed his cell phone from his bedroom before he settled back on the couch and stared at his phone screen, feeling utterly lost.

 

What the hell was he supposed to say to Snafu? Did he text him a simple ‘hi’ and wait for Snafu to respond or should he just go into the conversation? During their late night conversations they often bounced from topic to topic without much thought but Eugene couldn’t help but wonder if it’d feel weird or forced over text. Did Snafu even want him to text him or would he find it annoying?

 

_He forcibly gave you his number so that’s gotta mean something, right?_ Eugene thought. _But he was pretty drunk that night so maybe not?_

 

Eugene allowed himself another moment of stress before he let the ridiculousness of the situation sink in. Why was he freaking out about this?

 

_Fuck it,_ Eugene thought quietly before he opened the conversation and typed a quick ‘how’s the expo going so far?’ before he all but threw his phone to the other side of the couch.

 

Barely a minute passed before the tell-tale buzz of his phone receiving a text sounded; Eugene couldn’t help the smile that came to his face when he saw Snafu’s name pop up on his notifications.

 

Snafu

**> >Not going yet. Today was just set up and registration bs  
** **> >Got a couple appointments lined up for tomorrow tho**

 

**< <That’s good. Makes flying there worth it,** Eugene typed back.

 

Snafu

**> >Still up for debate  
** **> >The flight was horseshit**

 

Eugene couldn’t help but chuckle at the message.

 

**< <What was so bad about it?**

 

Snafu

**> >Turbulence the whole fucking way**  
**> >Got the fucking middle seat**  
**> >Going thru security was a bitch too  
** **> >Fuck flying**

 

Shaking his head at Snafu’s complaints, Eugene set his phone down quickly so that he could pick up his pipe again and enjoy his tobacco. He put his pipe down when he felt his phone vibrate again.

 

Snafu

**> >Howre things on your end**

 

**< <Good. Flo and Jay are keeping the parlor running pretty smoothly.**

 

Snafu

**> >Knew they would.**

 

**< <They’ve been pretty busy though. But I guess that’s a good thing.**

 

Snafu

**> >They can have a day off once me and burgie are back  
** **> >Theyll survive**

 

**< <When are you guys gonna be back?** Eugene asked, suddenly realizing he didn’t know.

 

Snafu

**> >Sunday  
** **> >Sometime in the afternoon.**

 

**< <What all have you got planned for your days there? Doing anything besides stuff at the expo?**

 

Snafu

**> >We did some stuff yesterday when we had nothing going on**

 

**< <Like what?**

 

Feeling relaxed, Eugene settled down comfortably into the scratchy surface of the couch and waited for Snafu to respond. When a few minutes passed without a new text, Eugene figured Snafu had fallen asleep or grown bored of the texting, which was understandable to Eugene but also made him feel oddly disappointed. Eugene was just about to head in for the night when his phone lit up with an incoming call; it was Snafu.

 

“Hello?” Eugene answered, half expecting Snafu to have pocket dialed him.

 

“ _Hey_ ,” Snafu’s warm voice responded to him, sending a sensation of relief through his body. There was a long pause before Snafu spoke again, as if he were unsure about what to say even though he was the one who called him. _“Sorry. ‘M not into texting. It’s annoying. Is… is calling fine with you?”_

 

“Wouldn’t have picked up if it wasn’t,” Eugene responded, unaware of the smile on his face.

 

“ _Cool,”_ Snafu said before a loud horn sounded in the background.

 

“Stepped outside for a smoke?” Eugene asked.

 

_“Yeah. That and ‘m not about to be rude and talk on the phone while Burgie’s sleeping_ ,” he answered.

 

“Fair enough,” Eugene agreed before he thought of his previous question. “So, what stuff did you do around the city?”

 

While Snafu began ranting and raving about all the tourist traps Burgie dragged him to and how, in his opinion, deep dish pizza was bullshit and shouldn’t be classified as pizza, Eugene closed his eyes and let Snafu’s voice wash over him.

*           *           *

The next several days repeated the formula of that night. He went to work, went on coffee runs for Jay and Flo, and when he couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night he’d send Snafu a text to make sure he was also awake before he called. Friday night he hadn’t even felt like venturing outside to call him and simply stayed in bed to talk to Snafu about nothing and while he talked about the expo; calling him from his bed had been a mistake because at some point in the conversation, Eugene drifted off to sleep. Not only did Eugene feel bad for his rude behavior, but Snafu teased him mercilessly about it the next time he called him.

 

Sunday early afternoon, Eugene and Flo were sitting out on the balcony during their respective breaks, enjoying what possibly was the last nice day of the year, when he received an unexpected call.

 

“Hey,” Eugene greeted the caller as he answered the phone.

 

_“Hey_ ,” Snafu said in response.

 

“This is unexpected.”

 

_“Sorry.”_

 

“No, it’s fine. What’s up?” he asked, confused- but not upset -that Snafu was calling him during the daytime.

 

_“Um, so, basically me and Burgie are both idiots and we forgot to ask someone to pick us up from the airport tonight,”_ Snafu started. _“And I know Flo and Jay are both working-”_

 

“So I’m a last resort again?” Eugene teased.

 

_“No. Just… ask Jay for the keys to my truck to pick us up. If you can. If you’re busy don’t bother with Leyden, I’d rather take the train back.”_

 

“It’s fine, Snaf, I’ll do it,” he agreed before he listened to the sound of Snafu’s breathing into the phone; it sounded off, almost like he was nervous. “Is that all?”

 

_“Waiting to board,”_ Snafu said stiffly. “ _Need a fucking smoke but I can’t. Shoulda just said fuck it and got a greyhound back.”_

 

As Snafu bitched Eugene could easily picture Snafu fidgeting in his plastic airport seat, leg bouncing up and down, his need for nicotine made worse with his nerves. The image made him smile softly, even if he wasn’t sure why.

 

Feeling eyes on him, Eugene turned his head and found Flo staring at him with an odd, wide-eyed expression. It confused him.

 

“What?” Eugene asked quietly, moving the phone away from his mouth.

 

“Oh, nothing!” Flo said brightly, odd expression slipping from her face. “I just spaced out and thought of something.”

 

_“Sledge?”_

 

“I’m still here, sorry. Talking to Flo,” Eugene responded.

 

_“Hmm.”_

 

“Anyways, I’m sure you’ll survive the flight.”

 

_“You got a lot of faith in these flying tin cans, Sledge.”_

 

“The chances of a plane going down are like one in a million, Snaf, quit being so dramatic.”

 

_“Yeah well, I’mma ‘bout to see if I’m that one,_ ” Snafu muttered. _“Planes about to board.”_

 

“I’ll let you go then. And I’ll see you in a few hours,” Eugene added, smile coming to his face involuntarily.

 

After hanging up, Eugene turned back towards Flo and found a soft expression on her face now, confusing him once again.

 

“What’s with all the looks?” Eugene asked as he returned his phone to his pocket.

 

“What looks?” Flo asked before she quickly changed the subject. “So they’re at the airport right now?”

 

“Yeah. Snaf said that they’re about to board.”

 

“So they’ll be here in a few hours! Ugh, I can’t wait to see Rom,” she said with a small sigh before she got up from her seat. “But I really have’ta get back to the parlor, I’ve already gone over on my break and I’m sure Jay’s not gonna be pleased.”

 

“Talk to you later then,” Eugene said as he watched her depart down the stairs, feeling like he was missing something.

*           *           *

Knowing that when it came to Boston traffic, it was best to anticipate the worst, Eugene left as early as possible for the airport, however, being late to picking his friends up wasn’t the only thing he was worried about. The entire concept of driving made him feel nervous as it had been quite some time now since he’d driven anywhere; Eugene was sure he hadn’t driven anywhere since he sold his car back in Brooklyn for money to startup the flower shop. He was immensely grateful when he climbed into Snafu’s truck and found that it was an automatic and not stick; if Snafu’s truck was stick Eugene would have just given up and call them a cab.

 

Despite everything, Eugene made it to the airport in one piece and much too early. He figured he could have waited in the parking lot and made his way over to the pickup area once Snafu texted him that they were ready but instead Eugene found a parking spot and made his way into the busy airport. Soon after Eugene found a place to wait outside of baggage claim, Snafu texted him notifying that they just got off of the plane.

 

_Shouldn’t be more than ten minutes_ , Eugene thought quietly.

 

As Eugene waited, messing around on his phone as he did, he noticed that there was an odd mix of nerves and excitement buzzing around him that he didn’t quite understand. Blaming it on the general noise and chaos of the airport, Eugene shrugged it off and focused on his phone. Once people started streaming out of baggage claim, Eugene felt his stomach lurch uneasily; he pushed the sensation down and focused on looking for his friends through the crowds of people.

 

He spotted Burgie first.

 

“Hey, Sledge,” Burgie greeted him happily before Eugene pulled him into a quick one-armed hug.

 

“Hey, Burg,” Eugene responded warmly before he noticed Burgie was alone. “Where’s Snafu? Don’t tell me he actually jumped ship and caught a Greyhound.”

 

“Nah, he ran off to the bathroom,” Burgie answered before he looked over his shoulder and added, “he should be coming along soon.”

 

Eugene watched the crowds filtering in over Burgie’s shoulder for a minute before he spotted Snafu, looking disgruntled and grey in the face. Feeling oddly like he missed a step going down a flight of stairs, Eugene felt himself smile involuntarily when he locked eyes with Snafu. He took a small bit of pride when he saw Snafu’s aggravated expression transform into something softer, happy even.

 

“You survived the flight then?” Eugene teased happily as soon as Snafu was within earshot.

 

Instead of responding, Snafu did something unexpected: he pulled Eugene into a full hug, which Eugene reciprocated without a second thought. He felt oddly light, as he held on tightly to Snafu, but also, weirdly enough, like he didn’t want to let go. By the way Snafu clutched onto the back of Eugene’s sweater, Eugene couldn’t help but feel as if maybe Snafu felt the same.

 

It was only when Burgie cleared his throat- _loudly_ -that Eugene realized that perhaps maybe the hug had gone on for a moment too long.

 

When they broke apart, Eugene found Burgie’s eyes on him and giving him that odd sensation that he was somehow x-raying him with just his eyes. Eugene wanted to ask him what the look was for but he stopped himself as he felt a wave of Deja Vu hit him; he still remembered the way Flo looked at him earlier in the day.

 

“So, um, how was the flight,” Eugene asked after a beat, feeling uncomfortably warm under his collar.

 

“Fine,” Burgie responded at the same moment Snafu spat out, “awful.”

 

“What was wrong?” Eugene asked as they made their way towards the exit.

 

“Nothing was wrong,” Burgie said, rolling his eyes.

 

“The fucking plane was shaking the whole time,” Snafu argued gruffly.

 

“If the turbulence isn’t even enough to warrant the seat-belt sign being put on, it’s not actually bad, Snafu,” Burgie said gently. “You’re just afraid of flying.”

 

“I’ve told you a million times, Burg, I get airsick,” Snafu growled. “Can’t help it.”

 

“Funny, though, I’ve never seen you actually _get sick_ on a plane before,” Burgie countered.

 

“It’s cus I’m courteous and I’m not just gonna go and blow chunks in front of you.”

 

“Uh huh, sure,” Burgie responded, sounding not at all convinced.

 

A few minutes later, they arrived at Snafu’s truck. Burgie tossed his bags in the cab before he climbed into the back without question. Digging the keys out of his pocket, Eugene offered them to Snafu, assuming he’d prefer to drive his own car but Snafu declined with a wave of his hand.

 

“Nah, I still need a minute,” Snafu muttered, still looking rather pale. “You got it here, I’m sure you can get it back.”

 

“Okay,” Eugene shrugged before they each climbed into the front of the truck.

 

Eugene started up the truck and headed towards the exit of the parking lot; he had barely cleared the parking lot when Snafu suddenly called out for him to stop. Confused and concerned, Eugene pulled over to the side of the road and turned to look at Snafu, who was wide-eyed and gripping onto the inside of the door with white knuckles. Eugene looked over his shoulder, hoping Burgie would hold some answer to Snafu’s strange behavior, but found Burgie white-faced an in a similar condition.

 

“What?” Eugene asked, feeling completely in the dark. “Are you guys okay?”

 

“Are _you_ okay?” Snafu asked, eyes still impossibly large.

 

“Yeah,” he responded slowly.

 

“Well then why the fuck are you driving like that?” Snafu cried.

 

“Driving like what?”

 

Instead of responding, Snafu exchanged an almost horrified look with Burgie, which only irritated him more.

 

“Sledge, how the fuck did you get here without crashing my truck?” Snafu asked quietly while Burgie finally broke and began snickering behind him.

 

“Oh, don’t start acting like, Bill,” Eugene huffed angrily, turning to stare out the windshield while he felt anger rise up inside of him. “He says I’m the worst driver out there.”

 

“I never thought I’d say this but Leyden is fucking right,” Snafu said while Burgie’s snickers turned into full-blown laughter. “Now get out, I’ll drive.”

 

“You were the one who asked me to drive you home!” Eugene snapped.

 

“That’s cus I didn’t know you were so goddamn awful,” Snafu countered, shocked expression finally cracking into a smile of his own. “Holy shit.”

 

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

 

“Okay, Sledge, I’m really not trying to be rude here but do you actually _have_ a driver's license?” Burgie asked, leaning forward into the space between Snafu and Eugene.

 

“Oh, fuck off, Burgie, you can walk home,” Eugene growled, causing Snafu to burst into laughter.

 

“You better watch out, Burgie. Sledgehammer has a pretty mean bite to him,” Snafu teased before he turned and addressed Eugene. “Okay but seriously, Sledge, switch with me. Ya ain’t driving. I didn’t just get hurtled through the sky in a fucking tin can to die on flat ground in my truck.”

 

Red-faced and realizing the battle was lost, Eugene threw the door open and exited the car, making sure to go the opposite way around that Snafu took to avoid the man for another moment. Entering the passenger’s side, Eugene couldn’t help but slam the door slightly.

 

“Oh, don’t pout, Sledgehammer,” Snafu teased a moment later, reaching out to grip Eugene’s shoulder and give it a firm shake. “Everyone’s gotta have their flaws. Here’s proof that you’re not perfect.”

 

“Jesus christ,” Burgie muttered quietly from behind them.

 

“What was that, Burgie?” Snafu asked, smile slipping off of his face as he removed his hand from Eugene’s shoulder.

 

“Oh, nothing,” Burgie responded breezily.

 

Not feeling up for conversation, Eugene flicked on the car radio and turned the volume up slightly too loud; he knew Snafu was grinning at him but instead of meeting his gaze, Eugene turned and spent the rest of the car ride back staring out the car window.

*           *           *

Monday brought a return to normalcy. Eugene shot the shit with Burgie in the morning while he rearranged the front displays and spent his lunch break sitting in Jay and Snafu’s living room; the weather finally cooled down enough that it was now uncomfortable to spend too much time outside on the balcony. Flo entertained him with a retelling of some dumb story from years ago while Jay sat on the floor as he worked on a charcoal sketch, adding his own perspective of events whenever he saw fit; they both were very much enjoying their well-deserved day off. In the midafternoon, as he was about to call it a day, Eugene watched with mild amusement as Bill and Snafu ruffled each other’s feathers loudly outside of their storefronts. It was nice, to have so much laughter and life surround him once again.

 

When Eugene settled into bed that night, he did so with the feeling that he’d sleep through the night, as he had the night previously; unfortunately for Eugene, his subconscious had a different plan for him that night.

 

The dream started as it always did, with Eugene slowly traversing the desert landscape a handful of paces behind Oswalt. Eugene stopped, Oswalt stopped, they talked, Oswalt continued to walk, eyes focused on Eugene instead of where he was stepping…

 

And then it turned into a nightmare.

 

He cried out for his friend, desperate for a response that he never got, no matter how many times he tried, no matter how many times he had to relieve this moment, the end result never changed.

 

Thick, suffocating, poisonous black smoke, deafening ringing in his ears, crushing heat pressing down on him from all sides, and blind, unrelenting panic crushing his chest, it was all too much.

 

With a strangled gasp, Eugene woke up to find his body twisted tightly in his tangled, damp blankets; panic, already at a fever pitch, somehow ramping up when he couldn’t break free. Chest heaving, heart hammering, limbs restrained and uncooperative, Eugene struggled until he felt his mattress disappear from underneath him. There was open air for a millisecond before it was replaced with cold, hard floors of his bedroom, knocking what little air he had out of his lungs. Wheezing painfully on his floor, Eugene tore at the cloth around him, not caring if he ripped his sheets, so desperate to be free. Sometime later, - it could have been a second, it could have been a minute, it could have been an hour, he couldn’t tell -Eugene freed himself and crawled pathetically away from his bed. Forcing himself onto shaking, unstable limbs, Eugene stood and exited his bedroom. Eugene blinked and found him suddenly standing on the cold, dark, empty balcony. Feeling disoriented and anguished, Eugene stumbled towards the couch and collapsed onto it, his head falling heavily into his hands.

 

His mind was spinning, churning with a million awful thoughts, while his body trembled. He felt like he was about to be sick.

 

_Breathe_ , Eugene reminded himself weakly when he felt fire in his chest. _You have to breathe…_

 

His hearing was muddled, everything sounded like he was currently underwater, but he still could hear his shuddering, painful gasp of a breath. He attempted a second, hopefully calmer, breath but it came out just as panicked and desperate; his chest continued to heave uncomfortably with the effort of bringing air into his shaken body.

 

It had been a while since one of his nightmares affected this badly, Eugene realized numbly while he fought to stop himself from hyperventilating. He remembered how not too long ago he woke up in a similar state at least once a week. Now, however, while he still experienced nightmares often they mostly just started him awake, made him feel uneasy or restless, they were manageable.

 

Of course he wouldn’t be able to escape reliving the worst moment of his life, no matter how well he was feeling lately. His fucked up brain would never let him forget every last detail of it.

 

… But why should he be allowed to forget? Why did he deserve that luxury? He survived. Oswalt didn’t. His situation might not be roses but his friend clearly got the short end of the stick. Sure, it wasn’t fair to spend the rest of his life plagued by intense nightmares but it also wasn’t fucking fair that Oswalt lost his life for no goddamn reason. It was his penance for sheer dumb luck.

 

_But if you stopped having those nightmares, would you even stop to think about Oswalt anymore?_ Eugene asked himself, feeling guilt eat away at his stomach. _Without the nightmares you’d forget him… he’d just disappear…forgotten._

 

The thought made him feel sick.

 

“Sledge.”

 

Through his clouded ears, Eugene heard his hesitant voice, but he couldn’t look up, couldn’t move his face out of his hands, not yet. A moment passed and suddenly the was a comforting warm weight resting on one of his knees. When Snafu spoke again, his voice came from directly in front of him.

 

“Sledge,” Snafu repeated softly.

 

“I’m fine,” Eugene wheezed, face still in hands and sounding absolutely anything but fine.

 

Eugene felt the hand on his knee squeeze slightly before it slipped away, leaving Eugene feeling slightly disappointed at the loss of contact.

 

Recognizing that he couldn’t hide forever, Eugene pried his face from his hand with a heavy sigh that turned into a small sob at the end; he realized dully that he was crying but he couldn’t find the energy to care if he tried. Staring straight ahead, Eugene found Snafu kneeling in front of him, eyes wide and staring at him. A small part of him wanted to snap and yell at him for staring but he knew deep down that getting angry wouldn’t feel any better than his current state; Eugene turned away instead.

 

“You’re shaking,” Snafu commented quietly.

 

“It’ll go away,” Eugene mumbled, embarrassed.

 

“No it won’t,” Snafu said confidently; confused, Eugene turned back to face him. “It’s fucking freezing out and you’re not even wearing fucking socks, idiot.”

 

Glancing down at his body it was only then that Eugene realized he was only wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants, both of which were thoroughly soaked with sweat, making them utterly useless against the chill of the very early November morning. Snafu, meanwhile, was fully decked out in thick sweatpants and a hoodie; Eugene could tell Snafu was shivering even in his clothes.

 

“Whatever,” Eugene sighed hollowly, bringing his gaze back to his hands resting in his lap.

 

“Do you… do you wanna talk about it?” Snafu asked slowly, hesitant.

 

Eugene had not expected those words to come out of Snafu’s mouth. Mind still spinning from his nightmare and taken aback by Snafu’s words, Eugene automatically responded without a thought.

 

“No.”

 

Snafu didn’t respond, just nodded his head while he turned away from Eugene; jaw working tensely, hands clenched and resting oddly on top of his knees, Snafu clearly struggled to find the right thing to say or do. As Eugene fiddled uncomfortably with his fingers in his lap- he wished he had remembered to grab his pipe on his way out -he thought over Snafu’s question: Did he want to talk about it?

 

“Oh, wait,” Snafu spoke up, smirk bringing his face alive as he turned back to face Eugene. “Got something’ for ya.”

 

Without another word, Snafu sprung up from his crouched position before he jogged back to his apartment. It wasn’t even a full minute before Snafu came bounding out onto the balcony again, item in hand with an odd sort of smile on his face. Eugene, frankly, expected him to present him with a bottle of booze, so he was surprised when Snafu collapsed onto the couch next to him with a white plastic bag in hand.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Ya gotta open it to find out,” Snafu said, rolling his eyes, odd smile still present.

 

He sent one last look to Snafu before he opened the bag and peered inside. In the dim lighting of the balcony it was hard to tell what it was so he reached inside and pulled the item out.

 

It was one of those silly plastic solar powered flowers, the ones that were painted bright colors and danced when put into the sun. Eugene had seen them occasionally at shitty gift shops at tourist traps; it wouldn’t surprise him to find one at some overpriced airport kiosk.

 

“Gotchu somethin’ that won’t be dead by Friday,” Snafu said cheekily, bumping his shoulder against Eugene’s.

 

“Oh, you fucker,” Eugene muttered while he felt a smile come to his face; next thing he knew he was laughing, even if he wasn’t exactly sure why.

 

“Maybe if I had more notice on your birthday I coulda got ya something better… but someone wanted to keep his birthday a secret,” Snafu teased, which earned him a shove.

 

“Oh yeah, what would you have gotten me if I told you in advance?” Eugene countered.

 

“Uh… same thing probably,” Snafu decided after a beat. “But I would’a bought it from somewhere else, cus damn, everything in the airport is a fuckin’ rip off.”

 

“Oh, did this really break the bank?” he teased. “What’d this knock you down, a whole five bucks?”

 

“Ya ain’t supposed to ask how much a gift was,” he accosted him. “Figured you’d know that, being a southern gentleman.”

 

“Well, thank you, Snafu,” Eugene said genuinely. “I appreciate it, really.”

 

“‘S not a big thing,” he shrugged as he pulled his cigarettes out of his hoodie pocket. Snafu tapped out two cigarettes and handed Eugene one before he patted his hoodie pocket awkwardly before he turned to his sweatpant pockets. “Uh, don’t have my lighter,” Snafu admitted.

 

“Are you kidding me?”

 

“What? I gotta bring everythin’?”

 

With a roll of his eyes, Eugene got up to retrieve his own lighter. Entering his bedroom, Eugene set down his gift gently on his bedside table before he located his lighter; as a second thought, he stepped into his slippers and grabbed an old sweater he had left on his bedroom floor. Once he returned to the balcony, Eugene made a point to light his own cigarette before Snafu’s.

 

As they fell into a comfortable silence, Eugene couldn’t help but fall back into his thoughts.

 

_...if you stopped having those nightmares, would you even stop to think about Oswalt anymore…?_

 

It was true, he really didn’t think about his friend anymore except for when he woke up in a panic in the middle of the night. He wanted to talk about his friend, wanted people to know about him, Robert Oswalt, a good kid, who like Eugene, joined the Marines partially out of familial tradition, who had _plans_ for when he got out…

 

_He wanted to be a doctor_ , Eugene reminded himself dully. _A surgeon._

 

Every now and again he felt the wish to talk about him, think about the good times they had together before everything went so horribly wrong. Occasionally he thought about bringing it up to Bill but he always chickened out. Bill knew Oswalt too and while that meant that Bill would have his own thoughts and feelings to contribute, it also meant that he might accidentally open up old wounds in Bill he didn’t know were present. He didn’t want to cause more pain just so that he could maybe feel a little better.

 

_“Do you… do you wanna talk about it?”_

 

Eugene glanced at Snafu. He had since pulled his hood up around his face to keep himself warm against the cold, his arms slung along the back of the couch, seemingly perfectly at ease.

 

Snafu didn’t have any ties to Oswalt, probably wouldn’t affect him in any real way to hear about him, but he would _understand_ Eugene.

 

“Can I help you with something, cher?” Snafu asked with a raised eyebrow, turning to smirk at Eugene, who, damn it all, couldn’t help but flush in response.

 

“... no,” Eugene decided after a moment’s consideration, tapping away the excess ash off of the end of his cigarette. “Just thinking about something.”

 

If- _When_ he felt the courage to talk about Oswalt, Eugene decided Snafu would probably be his best bet.

 

_Not tonight...but soon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fyi, another life update, im starting grad school at the end of the month which is scary and exciting but also ill probably be hella busy so i apologize in advanced if updates are slower than they already are 
> 
> thanks :) 
> 
> if you particularly enjoyed a certain scene in the chapter let me know! i love hearing other peoples favorite parts


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